The document discusses the portrayal of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in the film Girl Interrupted compared to the current clinical understanding of the disorder. It notes how BPD is depicted in the film through the character of Susanna, including her impulsivity, unstable relationships, and defiance of authority. The document also discusses the setting of McLean Hospital and how its treatment of BPD has changed from the time period depicted in the film to current practices. It provides sources examining the accuracy of the BPD depiction in the film, differences between then and now in BPD treatment, and definitions and manifestations of BPD according to clinical literature.

1. Girl Interrupted
Select a mental illness which has been depicted in a film or television series. Compare the
presentation of this disorder with the clinical literature on its symptoms, causes, treatment
and course of illness. Discuss how the media depiction of these aspects of the illness as well
as the mental health delivery system influences and reflects contemporary attitudes toward
mental illness in general and the specific disorder in particular. 5 scholarly sources
Bordeline Personality Disorder in Girl Interrupted-Contrast mental health and view of BPD
in the movie opposed to current.– How are the current institutions and treatments of BPD?
How was it before?– Critics of the movie in the psychological world (does the actress meet
expectations in accuracy of symptoms?)I talked to my professor and she said it would be
good to compare Mclean Hospital before (how it was shown in the movie) and now (they
have a special unit for the treatment of borderline personality disorder)She also said to use
this source because she knows the author.Stone, Alan A. Girl, interrupted. Clinical
Psychiatry News Aug. 2003: 61+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.I’m uploading the file
in another document.BPD definition in the movie:BPD is a condition 5x more common with
a parent who has BPD. It is an instability of self-image, relationships and mood. It presents
uncertainty about goals, impulsivity and activities that are self-damaging such as casual
(promiscuous) sex. It presents social contrariness and a generally pessimistic attitude
towards life. Noteworthy Quotes and Points of the Movie:– Susanna sneaks out, changes
pills with other patients, she has a destructive relationship with Lisa and is authority defiant
until Lisa leaves. She seduces a nurse. She verbally attacks Dr. Val. – She becomes very
depressed without Lisa, at the end choosing to have a life instead of staying down in the
dark with Lisa because she is already dead.Have you ever confused a dream with life?
Sometimes it is hard for me to stay in one place. It would be less emotional for your parents
not to take you to Claymoore themselves. Once it is in your head, you become this strange
new breed, a life form that loves to fantasize about its own demise. I didn’t try to kill myself,
I just tried to make the shit stop. I am ambivalent. I know what it’s like to want to die, how it
hurts to smile, how you try to fit in but can’t, how you hurt yourself on the outside to try to
kill the thing on the inside. How the hell am I supposed to recover if I don’t even understand
my disease? My final diagnosis: A Recovered Borderline. Crazy isn’t being broken or
swallowing dark secrets. It’s you or me amplified. If you ever told a lie and enjoyed it, if you
ever wished you could be a child forever; they were not perfect but they were my friends
and there isn’t a day my heart doesn’t find them. Sources to consider:Marshall, Elizabeth.
Borderline Girlhoods: Mental Illness, Adolescence, and Femininity in Girl, Interrupted. The

2. Lion and the Unicorn 30.1 (2006): 117-33. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 08
Apr. 2014. Stone, Alan A. Girl, interrupted. Clinical Psychiatry News Aug. 2003: 61+.
Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric
Publishing; 2013. March 2014. Freeman, Arthur Stone, Mark H. Martin, Donna. Comparative
Treatments of Borderline Personality Disorder Springer Publishing Company, Volume 1,
Issue 1. July 2004. Pages 1-314. March 2014. Dadabhoy H., Furnham A. Beliefs about causes,
behavioral manifestations and treatment of borderline personality disorder in a community
sample Psychiatry Research, Volume 197, Issue 3, 30 May 2012, Pages 307-313. March
2014.