Customer Reviews

Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality

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Clarkin, et. al. have crafted a comprehensive but very readable volume that manages to be at the same time thorough and succinct. This group of clinician-researchers and their program continue to set the pace in the realm of psychodynamic psychotherapy for borderline conditions. Their method, termed "transference focused psychotherapy (TFP)", should not be mistaken for just another entry in a long line of manualized, mostly cognitive-behaviorally based psychotherapies currently in vogue. Built upon foundations laid for decades by co-author Otto Kernberg, this is a further-refined, yet evidence-based and intensive form of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The volume is geared specifically toward the practicalities involved in working with such patients. In reading this book, the experience and wisdom of its authors come through in nearly every page, as the approach is very structured and methodical and includes the troubleshooting strategies that could only be honed through repeated experiences with these interesting and challenging patients. The frankness and richness of the clinical examples are keenly illustrative, and will have every therapist empathically nodding their heads as they read how others have handled commonly-encountered dilemmas in their own offices. What is especially helpful is the description of a case in all of its phases. Seeing the future and feeling hope can sometimes be difficult when the therapist gets immersed in the deep hopelessness of some of their patients... the complete case description provides a set of guideposts, benchmarking every phase of the therapeutic process.

It should be noted that familiarity with basic psychodynamic principles, as well as a working knowledge of object relations theory are prerequisites for making the most of this contemporary work. This contribution lends order to what is often a chaotic endeavor, and arms the psychodynamic therapist with very specific, practical, problem-oriented direction. I recommend it highly to every clinician who works in intensive psychotherapy with patients with borderline conditions.

This book is a very useful manual that helps you to install the unevitable treating contract with bordeline patients which is a necessary frame. The manual provides you with clear instructions on how to set priorities when it comes to troubles (acting-out). And it helps you to develop the feeling when to interprete in terms of transference. Analysts who are used to wait very long until they react actively may be irritated; but no psychotherapist involved in the toil's work with severe borderline conditions can afford to ignore this modern, lively and considerate point of application. This work is the psychoanalytic counterpart, and challenge to Marsha Linehan's famous behavioristic studies on treating the self-destructive and acting-out borderline patient.