The Most Effective Treatment Of Borderline Personality Disorder

What is Borderline Personality Disorder? Defined by the website www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com, “Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that causes unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. It usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood.” One may wonder what can be the cause of this disorder. BPD can be detected by an in-person interview about the symptoms that are occurring. The input from family and close friends of the individual that is being treated can also help detect the symptoms. The causes for BPD are not fully

Borderline personality disorder "is defined in the DSM IV, a manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose all mental disorders, as an AXIS II disorder which has symptoms of impulsively and emotional dysregulation" (Livesley 146). A person with BPD have feelings of abandonment and emptiness, and have "frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, going to extremes to keep someone from leaving" (Burger 300). He or she is emotionally unstable and forms intense but unstable interpersonal relationships. They show impulsive behavior, such as spending money, sex, eating and substance abuse. Borderlines engage in self-manipulating behaviors and recurrent suicide attempts and thoughts.

Psychiatric research on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has increased in popularity over the past few decades. It was included into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (Third Edition) in 1980. Over the years, professionals have found dramatically effective treatments for a disorder that was once considered disabling. Even though Borderline Personality Disorder can be hard to treat, it’s usually comorbid with other disorders like depression and anxiety. Throughout this paper, I will be focusing on background information, symptoms, and treatments of Borderline Personality Disorder.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can be described in simple terms as a condition in which sufferers experience long periods of emotional instability and troubled feelings about themselves and other people. These troubled feelings allow individuals to take impulsive measures and have trouble in their relationships (Bouchard, Sabourin, Lussier & Villeneuve, 2009). BPD basically comprises of unusual intensities of instability in mood and irrational thinking also referred to as splitting. Splitting in BPD involves a switch between negative perception of others and idealization (Sperry, 2003). This usually occurs along with irregular mood swings and can negatively impact on the existing relationships such as family,

A personality disorder is characterized by a distinct pattern of behavior that does not meet normal standards of behavior within one’s culture. This pattern is ingrained as the norm to the person affected, and the characteristics of the affected person deviate markedly from societal standards (Hebblethwaite, 2009). The two main features that help to identify a personality disorder are chronic interpersonal difficulties and persons with one’s identity or sense of self (Livesly, 2001). Within this set of mental health disorders lie several other subsets, including one of the most prominent personality disorders - Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BPD is a severe, long-lasting disorder that has an incidence of occurrence approximately equal to that of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined (Grant, Chou, Goldstein et al., 2008). BPD also puts those affected at risk for damage in many areas of their life if not properly diagnosed and treated, including personal relationships, school, work, and self-imagine. Furthermore, this disorder has a high co-morbidity with other disorders such as depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and social phobia, among many more (Hebblethwaite, 2009). Misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder can have serious clinical implications. This paper looks to identify the risk factors associated with BPD, the affects on various aspects of the person’s life, treatments, and give recommendations as to how to properly identify and

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious psychiatric illness. People that are diagnosed with this disorder suffer from an intense pattern of affective instability, extreme difficulties in interpersonal relationships, problems with behavioral or impulse control, and disrupted cognitive processes. The estimated prevalence of BPD in the general adult population is about 2%, mostly affecting young women.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental health disorder that cause changes in the mood and behavior of a person. According to www.mhhe.com, traits of BPD would be “self-destruction behaviors, fear of abandonment, and mood shifts.” People suffering from BPD has symptoms and problem with regulating emotions (intense mood swings), low self-worth, aggressive behavior, and a fear of abandonment (being left behind). It has been found that BPD has vague symptoms that is based on a wide collection. The cause of BPD are not well understood, but some psychoanalytic believe the symptoms come from poor care taking during childhood.

Borderline Personality Disorder was first listed in the DSM in 1980. It is classified as a cluster B personality disorder. Before then it was unsure if it was a disorder on its own, if it only coexisted with other disorders, or only mocked other disorders. Most people suffering from BPD have problems regulating emotions and thoughts, have impulsive and reckless behavior, and have unstable relations with others. High rates of comorbidity occur with this disorder including; depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

The main feature of borderline personality disorder is the pervasive pattern of unstable relationships, self-image, and impulsiveness. Borderline personality disorder begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of situations. A person with borderline personality disorder will make major efforts to avoid any situation of abandonment. There are many symptoms that go along with having borderline personality disorder. Some examples would include: intense fears of abandonment, intense anger and irritability, impulsive and risky behavior, and wide mood swings. Self-harm, suicidal behavior and substance intoxication are very common in people with borderline personality disorder. A person with BPD experiences emotions in different ways than

“Personality disorders have been documented in approximately 9 percent of the general U.S. population” (Angstman, Rasmussen, 2011). Emotional dysregulation disorder or its common name borderline personality disorder is a very serious and chronic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) describes borderline personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts” (Gardner, 2006). Within the last 20 years, psychologists and other mental health professionals have made tremendous strides in research on what exactly borderline personality disorder, some of its triggers and possible effective treatment options. Borderline personality disorder is defined as a disorder that generates severe emotional instability which can be a springboard that can lead to other stress induced mental and behavioral problems.

Though several personality disorders are highly complex and a challenge to treat, there are effective treatments available (“Treating Borderline” 1). The various treatments are broken down by method, the first of which being cognitive behavioral therapy, which attempts to alter the conscious thoughts and behavioral patterns of patients (Daniel); (“Treating Borderline” 2). Cognitive behavior therapy itself is broken down into two therapies, dialectical behavioral therapy and schema-focused therapy (“Treating Borderline” 2). Dialectical behavioral therapy, developed by Dr. Linehan, is centered on the basis that personality disorders are formed when hypersensitive patients are in situations which lack the emotional support they require, therefore leading to their “inability to regulate emotions” (“Treating Borderline” 2). Thus, the treatment serves to help the patient gain control over their emotion and behavior (“Treating Borderline” 2). The treatment itself consists of group and individual sessions and typically lasts approximately one year (“Treating Borderline” 2). During the group sessions, patients learn to become more aware of their behaviors and emotions through sessions pertaining to “problem solving, mindfulness meditation, and breath training“(“Treating Borderline” 2). In personal sessions, referred to as psychotherapy, the psychiatrist explains to the patient how the lessons from the group therapy sessions are applicable

The objective of this study is to describe the assessment and care of a client with borderline personality disorder. This work will additionally demonstrate the complexity of the problems and needs of this client and how this impacts on their illness and service providers. Additionally this work will describe the client's particular mental health problems, discuss possible causative factors and describe how the person was assessed and what interventions were used to help them. Evaluate the effectiveness of these assessments and interventions with reference to published literature, policy and legislation.

The history of BPD can be traced back to 1938 when Adolph Stern first described the symptoms of the disorder as neither being psychotic nor psychoneurotic; hence, the term ‘borderline’ was introduced (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15). Then in 1960, Otto Kernberg coined the term ‘borderline personality organization’ to describe persistent patterns of behavior and functioning consisting of instability, and distressed psychological self-organization (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15).

Borderline personality disorder is associated with a variety of different components and symptoms. The two main areas that borderline personality disorder is related to are moods and relationships; both of these areas tend to be quite unstable. The element about borderline personality disorder that I was not aware of was the increased risk that they have of injury or even death by their own hands. It is a common stereotype that is depicted in the media that those with psychological disorders are always acting sporadically and causing harm. It was discussed in this unit that the main reason these individuals are risks to themselves is because of instability, dysfunction, and impulsivity. Though these elements may sound like they match what is portrayed in the media, there are deeper meanings behind them that can cause dangerous behaviors. Instability is associated with relationships; individuals with borderline personality disorder often have unstable relationships because of their lack of emotional control, which can then lead to a constant fear of abandonment. Dysfunction is associated with unstable emotions and is often a good predictor of potential suicidal thoughts and

Treatment for this disorder there are different types of treatment for Borderline Personality Disorders. Individual Psychodynamic Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Serotonergic Agents, Lithium and Noradrenergic Agents are the therapies and drugs used on patients (Seligman and Rosenhan, 1998). However, there is another treatment called Dialectical Behavior Therapy that is suggested by research to be effective, in this therapy the patient will be taught on how to look events from different perspective and to look at the world in a more balance ( Nietzal et al.,