Borderline Personality Disorder: The Latest Assessment and Treatment Strategies (Paperback)

by Melanie A. Dean (Author) "Millions of Americans suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder (referred to throughout this book as "BPD"), a pervasive pattern of instability that begins early in life..." (more)
Key Phrases: referential thinking, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive analytic therapy, Compact Clinicats, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This is a great book that I highly recommend. It presents current, well-defined information in a very readable non-academic style. The concrete examples, pertinent test data, and clear information on other disorder that cause similar difficulties highlight this volume." (Dan Claiborn, Ph.D., Educational Consultant on Borderline Personality Disorder.)

"Wonderful! The condensed information from the literature is presented in a brief easy-to-read format. The 'patient viewpoint' sections echoed my own client's language and grounded the information in real life." (Helen Ball Mertz, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Adolescent Treatment Unit Manager.)

"Very comprehensive and concise. I especially like the comparisons of different treatment methods and the research on their effectiveness." (Irma M. Rahtjen, Ph.D., Private Practice Psychologist)

"Refreshing! This book presents superb comparative treatment examples. The innovative layout of the book makes it easy to review the most up-to-date strategies for therapy." -- Mark Lukin, Ph.D., Private Practice Psychologist --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Millions of Americans suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, a pervasive pattern of instability that begins early in life and affects most of a person’s daily functioning. How do you differentiate BPD from other disorders? What is the likelihood of recovery? What are the global treatment issues? Is group or individual therapy more effective? What environmental influences may cause BPD? How do pharmacological treatments help people with BPD? What Terms are used to describe BPD?

For brief but substantive answers to these questions - plus pros and cons of different clinical strategies, causes, typical characteristics, biological underpinnings, recommended medications and the most effective treatment strategies including those for self harm and suicide potential – turn to this Compact Clinicals’ guide to BPD.

Written for the professional in a jargon free, easy to read format.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Compact Clinicals; 2nd edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887537171
• ISBN-13: 978-1887537179
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,017,939 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book. Found it very useful and informative., March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Borderline Personality Disorder: The Latest Assessment & Treatment Strategies (Paperback)

The book is very clear and to-the-point. It provides very important information without going too much into useless details (like silly dramatic stories of very extreme cases I read in many other books that do not apply to me) Each chapter has a very clear, consise summaryand repeats definitions used in the text. What I found most useful is that the author provides comparison of different therapies available to-date based on scientific research, not her opinion allowing me to make my own choice. Having read this book, I know that my next step should be looking for DBT therapy with emphasis on cognitive schema-based approach. I also, found out that I should avoid not-so-helpful supportive therapy used with other disorders. The only drawback of this book, is that the author did not provide information of how to access appropriate therapies.

20 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing ending, June 9, 2002

By A Customer

While this book, in all it's earlier chapters does an excellent job of explaining the full mental, emotional and psychological make-up of someone suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder I was hugely disappointed and more than a bit let down towards the end when I read "Research has found no psychopharmacological agent to be superior to another for the broad spectrum of BPD symtoms. Clinicians have found these medications most effective for acute symptoms. MEDICATIONS GENERALLY SHOW LIMITED EFFICACY WHEN USED FOR MAINTENANCE."

It seems that the general, underlying advice which this author gives is one of communal support groups or finding therapists who have the necessary knowledge of dealing with BPD.

For those unfortunate people out there who know that they do have BPD but who either cannot afford a suitable therapist or who do not have the means of joining up with BPD support groups (due to distances involved or other insurmountable difficulities) - one feels let down after finally discovering the diagnosis as to what exactly ails you.

A short section regarding available and used medications for BPD is discussed, together with their side effects too, but other than that - anyone who suffers from BPD will not get full guidance just how they can go about learning to deal with this most incapacitating illness.

If you are looking for answers as to how to deal with your illness - this book sadly falls flat towards the end...