Effects and Distinctive Aspects of Mindfulness Training for Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Several studies showed that individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are characterized by deficits in mindfulness capabilities, understood as the ability to paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way. Deficits in mindfulness have been related to some of the core characteristics of BPD as impulsivity, emotion dysregulation or impairments in interpersonal behavior. In addition, it seems that having had a history of childhood sexual abuse also affects mindfulness abilities. To date, some studies suggest that mindfulness training has a positive impact in BPD as reflected in improvements in attentional (i.e., response inhibition) and impulsivity-related aspects (i.e., tolerance for delayed rewards and time perception). In addition to a diminishing in BPD-related symptoms, mindfulness practice has also been related to an enhancement of decentering and other mindfulness facets including the ability for describing, non-judging and non-reacting. Taken together, the current evidence suggests that mindfulness is efficacious for the treatment of BPD, and that mindfulness-based interventions for BPD should place especial emphasis in improving attitudinal aspects as non-judging.