I'm interested if anyone here has any thoughts on the Power Threat Meaning Framework as an alternative to diagnostic tools like the DSM or ICD-10. I listened to an episode of the podcast 'It's Not Just in Your Head' which talked about it, and I thought it was especially interesting in relation to BPD. 

I'm not sure if I can have links here, but from the British Psychological Society, it says:

"In traditional mental health practice, threat responses are sometimes called ‘symptoms’.

The Framework instead looks at how we make sense of these experiences and how messages from wider society can increase our feelings of shame, self-blame, isolation, fear and guilt.

The approach of the Framework is summarised in four questions that can apply to individuals, families or social groups:

1. **What has happened to you? (How is power operating in your life?)**
2. **How did it affect you? (What kind of threats does this pose?)**
3. **What sense did you make of it? (What is the meaning of these situations and experiences to you?)**
4. **What did you have to do to survive? (What kinds of threat response are you using?)**"

I think that 'what did you have to do to survive?' relates especially to BPD because instead of viewing symptoms as isolated behaviours, it contextualises it in an experience of invalidation and/or trauma, which is typically what causes BPD. I like that it focuses less on the individual as disordered and moreso on broader society and the experiences the individual has gone through. 

I'm not certain I'm for or against it, but I'm curious what other people think.