Integrative Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: Effective, Symptom-Focused Techniques, Simplified for Private Practice [Paperback]

John D. Preston Psy D ABPP (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572244461 | ISBN-13: 978-1572244467 | Publication Date: April 3, 2006 | Edition: 1

The Best Interventions for BPD-Structured for Private Practice

If you're a therapist in private practice, the odds are that, at some point, you'll encounter a client with borderline personality disorder (BPD). You already know how challenging it is to help people with BPD, especially within the limited scope of treatment allowed by managed care programs. But you want to help. And the severity of BPD, in particular the tendency of people with BPD to engage in suicidal and self-destructive behaviors, makes it critical that you have every chance for conducting a successful intervention-no matter what resources are available to you.

By blending the most effective treatment techniques available for BPD into a clear and systematic protocol, this book shows you how to maximize your chances for helping your client achieve lasting change in the course of brief therapy. Skills for regulation of out-of-control emotions, including some from the much acclaimed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), make up the core of the program. The book also benefits from the psychopharmacological expertise of its author, John Preston, whose Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists is the essential resource for therapists about psychoactive medication.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A must read for clinicians facing the challenge of treating borderline personality disorder. The book provides practical, wise, and immediately helpful advice that will improve your next session.”
—Allen Frances, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Duke University Medical Center and chair of the Task Force on the DSM-IV

From the Publisher

A noted expert in the treatment of borderline personality disorder presents a comprehensive program for treating this difficult condition—integrating the most effective treatments in use today, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). This book allows therapists in private practice to make progress with clients with BPD in just a few sessions.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (April 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572244461
• ISBN-13: 978-1572244467
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Preston, Psy.D is professor emeritus with Alliant International University in Sacramento, CA and formerly with the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and the Professional School of Psychology, San Francisco. He is the author of 21 books covering topics such as: psychopharmacology, neurobiology, psychotherapy, spirituality and emotional healing. His books have been translated into 14 foreign languages. He is the author of "Drugs in Psychiatry" chapter in the "Encyclopedia Americana". Dr. Preston has presented over 500 invited talks during the past 25 years, speaking in the USA, Canada, Europe, Africa and Russia.
His strength is presenting complex information in an easy to understand way.
He is recipient of the "President's Award" from the Mental Health Association and "Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award" from the California Psychological Association.

On a personal note, like other fellow human beings I have encountered significant emotional tragedies in my life, and hope that my books can make a difference in the lives of professionals as well as those who also suffer the difficulties of navigating through difficult times and emotional illnesses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confusion Nicely Demystified, September 26, 2007

By 

Rodger Garrett "SighKoBlahGrr" (Loma Linda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Integrative Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: Effective, Symptom-Focused Techniques, Simplified for Private Practice (Paperback)

Having read his previous work, I'm not surpised that Preston could distill a massive amount of scholarship and personal experience with the most arguable of diagnoses into a hundred sixty-five pages one can actually read and understand -without- a doctorate degree. He has de-mystified Borderline to the point one can grasp it -- and actually -do- something about it -- in a single tome.

That said, I'd like to respectfully submit that he start work on a second edition. Preston missed a few gems here and there that might make the next edition of Integrative Treatment... even -more- effective. As an example, Glen Gabbard's almost throw-away ideas (in -Management of Countertransference wth Borderline Patients-, 1994) about containing reactions and digesting emotions hit me square in the nose one day. To them, I added detoxifying neurochemistry, considering the facts and responding appropriately. (I refer to this "CDDCR" list because it's an easier memonic for me to grasp than Linnehan's "steps for adaptive problem solving" quoted by Preston.)

Likewise, he might stir in some of Fritz and Laura Perls' techniques for indentifying, owning and -processing- emotions. Have you ever met a borderline who -didn't- need a course in affect management? That Borderline is hugely co-morbid with bipolar is self-evident to most who work with such patients.

Regardless, I expect I'll (selectively) recommend this book to some of them (and/or their family members, as well). But I'll do so -carefully-. The term "borderline" is still a perjorative in the world, including the acute wards and community mental health clinics in my area. But Preston's work here has helped me to be able to explain it to people in a way that defuses the worst of the "sharp stick in the eye" syndrome.

This is a very useful text for any mental health professional at any level, and all the more so because it is as accessible to front-line floor techs and SAP counselors as it will likely be for struggling MFT and LCSW interns. The Psy.D., Ph.D. or MD who sniffs at it as "beneath me" will do themselves a decided disservice. If this book fails to become a mandate for MA- and MS-level students, it'll be a real shame.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy read for anyone, February 13, 2010

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P. Fries (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Integrative Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: Effective, Symptom-Focused Techniques, Simplified for Private Practice (Paperback)

This book was written for therapists in private practice, but I'm just someone that has a relative with BPD and I found it easier to understand than many of the other books on the subject that are geared toward the layperson; plus, I liked the idea of having one book with a different angle such as this which is meant to be a clinician's guide.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 20, 2008

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John Mcconnell (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Integrative Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: Effective, Symptom-Focused Techniques, Simplified for Private Practice (Paperback)

This book is brief, clearly written, practical, and research-based. Preston covers a wide range of useful material on both assessment and treatment. Clinical tools for intervention are presented in the context of a practical understanding of BPD. Preston's work could serve well as a first overview of the area, or as a good refresher of current clinical tools for experienced practitioners.