Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder

As many as 22% of adolescents seeking mental health care in outpatient clinics, and as many as 49% of those in inpatient units, meet the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite its prevalence, however, and the social and economic burden it entails, BPD remains underdiagnosed. For mental health professionals treating adolescents, sufficient training regarding the fundamentals and clinical management of BPD also remains difficult to come by.

This is a gap that the Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Adolescents With Borderline Personality Disorder seeks to fill. This manual demystifies BPD in young people by using the principles of good psychiatric management (GPM) to offer clinicians essential guidelines for generalist care. The authors outline common problems that arise during each phase or aspect of treatment, from diagnosis and pharmacology to family interventions, and discuss how to address them.

In the pages of this handbook, readers will find case vignettes that propose and discuss alternative interventions, as well as suggested scripts for communicating with adolescent patients, at an appropriate level, about their treatment. The education offered is intended as a jumping-off point, a road map to "good enough" care for clinicians, patients, and their families, even in the absence of specialized treatments.