"Dependency" and "personality disorder" in mental health services: a thread.

I'm thinking today about Courtney Porter who died earlier this year, just three days after being discharged from inpatient care against her wishes. 1/

She was 20 years old. At her inquest, @CNWLNHS defended their decision to discharge Courtney by stating that people with a diagnosis of EUPD could not stay indefinitely due to the "risk of developing a dependence on the service." 2/

"Risk of dependency" is a phrase used very commonly to deny or withdraw support and care from certain mental health patients - most often those bearing a personality disorder label. But why? Why are this huge heterogeneous group of people, labelled with PD, 3/

supposedly all at risk of developing dependency, more so than anyone else, and what is so terrible about dependency that it's actually preferable for people to die than to be dependent..? 4/

Mental health services in the UK reflect the western culture of viewing autonomy and independence as key to personal development and success. Since the rise of individualism and self-care in the NHS moved us away
5/