Borderline Personality Disorder: New Understanding, Better Outcomes

Probably no other mental disorder has stirred up more emotions and evoked more fascination and trepidation in therapists as the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD treatment can be volatile, unpredictable, intriguing, exhilarating and stressful. Once considered to be untreatable and hazardous to therapists who attempt treatment, BPD has undergone a significant re-conceptualization in terms of understanding its symptoms and causes, along with gaining better clarity in regard to prognosis and treatment. No longer considered an intractable condition, it is amenable to several treatments which have gained empirical support. Research shows that some of the most traditional therapeutic techniques can also be effective with BPD clients.

This 4 CE intermediate level course is comprised of one text article, three audios with text transcripts, and one video with audio and text transcript and covers the diverse symptoms and treatments of BPD. The initial part of the course is dedicated to providing an overview of the symptoms, diagnosis, and etiologies of BPD. The middle portion delves into the prognosis and various psychotherapy treatments for BPD. The last section includes an interview with Garry Cooper covering treatment of BPD, as well as a first-person description of therapy by a journalist with BPD. Additional resources and references are provided.