Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are described as having “a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These individuals do everything that they can to avoid abandonment whether its real or imagined (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Often they have a negative self-image which leads to self-mutilation or suicidal behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). For patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, the commonly accepted method of treatment is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). However, there are other treatment options. Therapies are typically administered on an inpatient or outpatient basis. For
…show more content…
Therefore, you can’t rule out the possibility that the medication played a role in the patients recovery. You also can’t deny therapy to a group of people to serve as a control group because it isn’t ethical (Clarkin et al., 2007). You can place people on a waitlist but they are able to seek their own treatment elsewhere. Therefore, there’s no way to have a standard control group during these types of studies. One study was only able to notice the reduction in hospital admissions in the last six months out of the 18 month study (***). This indicates that it may take an extended period of time for one to notice differences in the patients and their behaviors. Studies with shorter treatment periods may not have as accurate results as others due to this. Another study also suggest that a multicomponent program is necessary (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Some of the essential features are thought to involve a focus on relationships, a theoretically coherent treatment approach, and the consistent application overtime (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). The most important feature is how all of these components are brought together (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Another study found that using specialized treatment that is structured and organized around the persons core symptoms is most effective in treating them (Bateman, 2012). This could be why DBT and transference therapy seemed to have more effective results than the supportive and general therapies. One problem that clinicians may be facing when dealing with BPD is that they may be focusing too heavily on the life threatening conditions present and this may be causing them to neglect the interpersonal dysfunction (Bateman, 2012). What may be more beneficial is enacting family and social interventions (Bateman, 2012). These interventions would be able to still take place once the patient leaves the primary treatment
Therefore, you can’t rule out the possibility that the medication played a role in the patients recovery. You also can’t deny therapy to a group of people to serve as a control group because it isn’t ethical (Clarkin et al., 2007). You can place people on a waitlist but they are able to seek their own treatment elsewhere. Therefore, there’s no way to have a standard control group during these types of studies. One study was only able to notice the reduction in hospital admissions in the last six months out of the 18 month study (***). This indicates that it may take an extended period of time for one to notice differences in the patients and their behaviors. Studies with shorter treatment periods may not have as accurate results as others due to this. Another study also suggest that a multicomponent program is necessary (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Some of the essential features are thought to involve a focus on relationships, a theoretically coherent treatment approach, and the consistent application overtime (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). The most important feature is how all of these components are brought together (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Another study found that using specialized treatment that is structured and organized around the persons core symptoms is most effective in treating them (Bateman, 2012). This could be why DBT and transference therapy seemed to have more effective results than the supportive and general therapies. One problem that clinicians may be facing when dealing with BPD is that they may be focusing too heavily on the life threatening conditions present and this may be causing them to neglect the interpersonal dysfunction (Bateman, 2012). What may be more beneficial is enacting family and social interventions (Bateman, 2012). These interventions would be able to still take place once the patient leaves the primary treatment