Illness recognition of persons with psychiatric disorders is an important basis for establishing a therapeutic relationship. Insight into illness is a useful clinical concept of illness recognition, which is defined based on whether the recognition is consistent with the psychiatric concept of a particular disorder. Therefore, it is hardly applicable for cooperating with persons with not-well-conceptualized disorders. This paper examined the role of illness recognition of persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in forming a cooperative relationship. The current situation is that many persons with BPD who seek psychiatric treatment, are not provided with appropriate treatment, and resultantly fail to gain sufficient relieves from it. One reason for this is that treatment staffs are unable to use their illness recognition for facilitating cooperation. On the other hand, favorable conditions that have emerged lately are that a large body of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment and possibility of recovery, and that peer support activities such as revealing themselves as having BPD for encouraging others with the same disorder and spreading hope for recovery, are growing. In conclusion, it is recommended that for the purpose of working together with persons with BPD toward recovery, treatment staffs acknowledge their own illness recognition and presenting them psychiatric treatment as a potent and practical means to endorse distress reduction and stable daily life.
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