Response: Sometimes we wish Chris and Sam had died of cancer! – a response to Commentaries on the May 2022 Debate

Abstract

The debate articles in CAMH Journal, May 2022, have received some responses from contributors who are well known for their anti-diagnosis views concerning borderline personality disorder (BPD). Within these responses, we had hoped to see these campaigners try to test their worldview against our tragic experiences but we have been sadly disappointed. Our daughters actually lived in the world these campaigners hope to construct: a world where professionals behave as if BPD does not exist, a world where NICE Guidance for BPD is therefore entirely ignored. That world led to our daughters' deterioration and deaths. We address the main arguments against diagnosis as we have come to understand them and end with a plea to channel the passions of this debate into a solution that would have helped Sam and Chris.

Commentary: Commentary on the Twitter comments evoked by the May 2022 debate on diagnosing personality disorders in adolescents

“…In the May 2022 issue of CAMH , we launched a debate about the value and utility of personality disorder (PD) diagnosis in adolescence (Cannon & Gould, 2022a; Chanen, 2022; Crease, 2022; Elvins & Kaess, 2022; Kingsley, 2022; Schmeck, 2022; Tyrer, 2022a). These articles also generated fervent Twitter discussion (https://twitter.com/HartleySamantha/status/1503706671327109127), which was followed by further commentaries and responses published in CAMH (Cannon & Gould, 2022b; Garralda, 2022; Harding, 2022; Hartley et al., 2022; Tyrer, 2022b). Some reactions to the initial article series illustrate that, after two decades of intensive research and clinical service delivery, diagnosing PD in adolescence remains controversial and emotionally charged among some mental health professionals and some people with lived experience.…”