Which one of the following represents potential “splitting” behavior:
a) A family that expresses concern that the clinician is not being aggressive enough
b) A family that expresses anger when told that there are no further disease modifying treatments.
c) A patient who requests a second opinion
d) A patient who says “you are the only clinician who has ever been helpful”
Answer: d
Individuals with BPD have difficulty sustaining ambivalent feelings and may instead label clinicians as either “wonderful” or “terrible”, a defense mechanism known as “splitting”.
See FF#252 Borderline Personality Disorder
