What Is Borderline Personality? How, and with What Likelihood of Effectiveness, Can It Be Treated?

What Is Borderline Personality? How, and with What Likelihood of Effectiveness, Can It Be Treated?

  • Submitted By: yinararar
  • Date Submitted: 09/13/2011 3:23 PM
  • Category: Psychology
  • Words: 3090
  • Page: 13
  • Views: 562

What is borderline personality? How, and with what likelihood of effectiveness, can it be treated?

Personalities may be described as enduring characteristics of individuals that determine how we respond to life events and experience. Borderline personality disorder, as one of the most well-known personality disorders, can result in considerably negative outcomes to individuals’ health. So it is meaningful for researchers to explore and evaluate which therapies could be effective for treating patients with this disorder. Schema therapy (Giesen-Bloo, van Dyck et al., 2006) and dialectical behaviour therapy (Linehan, Comtois et al., 2006) have always been seen as influential treatment approaches suggested by a great deal of studies. Therefore, they will be mainly discussed in the following content, and evidence will be given to demonstrate how effectiveness can BPD be treated.
In the beginning, there is an introduction of borderline personality disorder (BPD) including its characteristics, diagnosis criteria and prevalence. The main features of borderline personality disorders, according to a conclusion by Davey (2008), are instability in personal relationship, a lack of well-defined and stable self-image, and unpredictable changes in moods and impulsive behaviour. In other words, it could be viewed as “stable instability” in emotion and behaviour. In the criteria of DSM-IV-TR, borderline personality disorder is known to be an Axis II disorder with diagnostic features of avoiding real or imagined abandonment with frantic efforts, having recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behaviour and threats, and having unstable self-image and interpersonal relationship (APA, 2000). However, the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV-TR may not be perfect as borderline personality disorder is highly comorbid with other psychopathologies across Axis I and Axis II. Zanarini, Frankenburg, Dubo, Sickel et al. (1998) found that borderline personality disorder had a high comorbidity...

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