There are many different opinions as to the role of admission to a psychiatric hospital in the treatment of borderline patients. Based on the literature on the one hand and his clinical experience on the other, the author tries to formulate a general strategy in treatment, for which he uses a differentiated spectrum model concerning the level of pathology in this kind of patient population.

The level of pathology is determined by a number of criteria that are illustrated by practical examples. These criteria are connected with the integrative capacity of the patient as far as we can derive it from the quality of the object relations, the therapeutic relationship, the object constancy, the self-representation, the regressive potential, the egodefects and superegodefects. The role of admission in treatment is described in relation to four levels of integration. Also some practical topics about the admission itself are pointed out.