62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heartfelt & insightful but not a self help guide, September 27, 2000
This review is from: Eclipses: Behind the Borderline Personality Disorder (Paperback)
I purchased this, along with several other books, to try to find help for a loved one suffering from B.P.
This book was by far the easiest to read, and was far more insightful than the outdated "I Hate You-Don't Leave Me* Understanding the Borderline Personality" book (it isn't a bad book, but it is in dire need of updating).
Pros: Gives an excellent insider's view of what having Borderline Personality is like. Gives great case examples of real people who have been successful in their treatment of B.P. Gives an in-depth look, from the patientsf eyes, of DBT Dialectical Behavior Therapy; which has been shown to be effective in treating B.P. Easy to read, yet at the same time engaging.
Cons: Poorly organized, seems to jump around a bit much; too many acronyms make it difficult to remember who the author is referring to. Not a self-help manual or a guide to helping people with the disorder. More of a portrait of B.P. from an insiderfs perspective.
I recommend this book for anyone who is looking to better understand this disorder, as well as anyone with a loved one suffering from B.P. It will help dissolve many of the common stereotypes associated with the disorder.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the ability to enroll in a long-term hospital program that specializes in B.P. The book may be a bit frustrating for those of you, who like me, are trying to orchestrate some level of decent care from the meager resources that are available.
It's worth reading, but remember that it is only a portrait of how a handful of women overcame their disorder in what sounds like an exceptional facility (which, sadly, has now been closed).
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heartfelt, Understanding, but flawed., February 20, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Eclipses: Behind the Borderline Personality Disorder (Paperback)
As a therapist, Melissa's personal accounts are inspiring and heartfelt. She presents many of the difficulties of this disorder in an understanding & compassionate way. Very happy to see her inclusion of Dialetic Behavior Therapy info & materials. However, I don't think the book is very well organized. Example: Chp. 2 on Inpatient Therapy seems a bit premature & could be frightening to clients who are new to the awareness of their diagnosis. There are examples (the one of the other patients using restraint on another patient) that if they are questionable, and I believe they are, shouldn't have been included. I would hesitate to recommend this book to my clients because of such examples although I am always looking for new materials to inspire hope in my clients and to get their cooperation for the use of DBT materials. I would encourage Melissa to do a revised version looking at content organization, making the writing more fluid, and the use of appropriate helpful examples.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Material, Just Not Balanced, August 15, 2000
This review is from: Eclipses: Behind the Borderline Personality Disorder (Paperback)
I'm the webowner of Borderline Personality Disorder Today. The author has some really good material in the book about DBT and how it has assisted her in her own recovery. I believe sharing her experiences as an in-patient at Highland Hospital are particularly important. However, the book focuses on only one aspect of recovery as if DBT is the *only* avenue there is to recovery from the BPD. Medication is not discussed which is extremely vital especially with what the research is saying about how helpful medications are in providing assistance with many of the BPD symptoms. The only thing I disagreed in the book was her statement "While disability is a godsend for many former patients who do not have sufficient financial resources, the public needs to be made aware that such a resource is an enabler rather than a tag of inability." I have read that as many as 33 % of BPDs are disabled, not because they want to be enabled, but because their illness has truly prevented them from sustaining a job. Would I recommend you buy the book? Yes, there is some good material there there that is important for BPD recovery.
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