Understanding and Treating Borderline Personality Disorder - John G. Gunderson,

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Understanding and Treating Borderline Personality Disorder Author: John G. Gunderson, MD, Perry D. Hoffman, PhD Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing, 1st edition (February 2005) Paperback: 192 pages ISBN-10: 1585621358 ISBN-13: 978-1585621354

Book Description
This well-written book sets out to demystify borderline personality disorder and educate a wide readership on the disorder and its treatment. Besides providing information on the subject, this book is unique in its goal and ability to provide information in a way that is useful to patients, their families, and healthcare professionals.

This is not a light read. The book is written by experts on the topic with the target audience of health professionals, patients, and family members of those with borderline personality disorder. It is written in such a way that allows for persons with varied levels of medical sophistication to gain better understanding of this frequently misunderstood disorder.

A valuable feature of the book is a section at the end of each chapter specifically labeled for family members but appropriate for all non-healthcare professionals to both reiterate the salient points of the chapter and to define technical terms in a glossary. The only shortcoming is the occasional section that is dense and relies heavily on technical terms, likely making it difficult for laypersons to comprehend.

The book is organized in two main sections. The first includes the current understanding of borderline personality disorder including information about the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, while the second focuses on personal and family experiences with the disorder.

About the Authors
John Gunderson, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. At McLean Hospital he is Director of Psychotherapy and of the Psychosocial Research Program. His seminal studies on the diagnosis, families, psychodynamics, treatment and pathogenesis of borderline personality disorder helped transform the diagnosis from a psychoanalytic construct into an empirically validated and internationally recognized disorder. He chaired the DSM IV work group on personality disorders, and currently chairs a major NIMH-funded collaborative study on the longitudinal stability of personality disorders. He is actively involved in treating borderline patients using all modalities and brings this experience to bear in his talks and writing.

Perry D. Hoffman, Ph.D., is President of the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder and Research Associate at Weill Medical College at Cornell University in New York, New York.