Customer Reviews

Shorter Term Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorders (Best Practices for Therapy)

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I am the webowner of the site "Borderline Personality Disorder Today." This is a book written primarily for clinicians but I also feel BPDs can learn from it. Initially, he presents a very important problem in treating BPDs. One that I have always felt. When discussing long term therapy, he states "..I suspect that only a tiny percent of borderline patients can afford such treatment." Also discussed are the limitations that some HMOs have that prevent treating the BPD. He also states "Borderline patients are often so dysfunctional that they do not have the ability to earn a good income and/or they experience significant occupational instability...The bottom line is this: These people who suffer so much cannot afford long term treatment..." He discusses BPD symptomology, therapeutic strategies and even discusses how the limbic system in the brain is damaged and how medication can help. I recommend this book to clinicians, borderlines and families.

Most books addressing the treatment of borderline personality disorder recommend intensive treatment. Let's get real. People with this type of disorder suffer tremendously and lead chaotic lives. One manifestation of the chaos is unstable employment and marginal incomes. For 99% of borderline people, long term, intensive treatment is financially unrealistic. This book discusses practical approaches primarily drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy and psychopharmacology that are reasonable alternatives in treating this very difficult group of clients. The author's use of the concept "shorter term" refers to weekly psychotherapy lasting from 3-12 months. This book is well written, clear, and practical.

I had read this book over 5 years ago when I worked in mental health. At that time the service was having difficulty dealing with people who have a Borderline Personality Disorder and held the misguided belief that only long term intensive treatment would help these people.
This book showed otherwise - it has a good explanation of the causes and symtoms of BPD and it also has some very good practical suggestions on how to manage some of the chaotic behaviours as a therapist. I have used some of the activities and they have worked very well, particularly the 60 seconds reality check.
I think it is an easy read, easy to understand, informative book for anyone who is working with the challenging behaviours of a person with BPD.Shorter Term Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorders (Best Practices for Therapy)

as someone coping with a borderline personality in her life, i scoured the public library collection for books on the topic. this is perhaps the best: i am online to order it now. written for the professional who needs to treat patients within the parameters of insurance company mandates that limit the number of therapeutic sessions, the author makes a real contribution to treatment which can ameliorate the borderline's acute suffering and stabilize in a crisis. calling this illness 'stable instability', he knows his is a band-aid solution, but given that, shows how it may serve to deal with crisis, the immediate maladaptive reaction to the deeper original wounds. for the non-professional, this book has a two-fold value: first, it examines the illness of borderline personality disorder in a very readable, straightforward, and complete manner, and so it is an excellent introduction to anyone wishing to understand the illness. second, it gives those in proximity to the borderline some nascent skill in knowing how to handle an outburst or breakdown. i highly recommend this book: knowing how terribly a borderline suffers, i so wish i could do more.