This article addresses psychotherapy with a person described as possessing a borderline personality disorder (BPD), or possessing features consistent with this diagnosis. In particular, a selection of mainstream approaches is reviewed to examine unique and universal aspects of current thinking about this treatment population. Following this review, an expanded analysis of person-centered therapy is offered, examining current research evidence and the mechanisms of change hypothesized to occur in the person-centered treatment of BPD.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., Text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
AsayT. P.LambertM. J. (1999). The empirical case for the common factors in therapy: Quantitative findings. In HubbleM. A.DuncanB. L.MillerS. D. (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy (pp. 23-55). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
3.
BatemanA.FonagyP. (1999). Effectiveness of partial hospitalization in the treatment of borderline personality disorder: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1563-1569.
4.
BatemanA.FonagyP. (2001). Treatment of borderline personality disorder with psychoanalytically oriented partial hospitalization: An 18-month follow-up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 36-42.
5.
BatemanA. W.FonagyP. (2004). Mentalization-based treatment of BPD. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18, 36-51.
6.
BatemanA.FonagyP. (2008). 8-year follow-up of patients treated for borderline personality disorder: Mentalization-based treatment versus treatment as usual. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 631-638.
7.
BozarthJ. D.ZimringF. M.TauschR. (2002). Client-centered therapy: The evolution of a revolution. In CainD. J.SeemanJ. (Eds.), Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice (pp. 147-188). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
8.
BrodleyB. T. (1990). Client-centered and experiential: Two different therapies. In LietaerG.RombautsJ.Van BalenR. (Eds.), Client-centered and experiential psychotherapy in the nineties (pp. 87-107). Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press.
9.
BrodleyB. T. (2006). Client-initiated homework in client-centered therapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 16, 140-161.
10.
ClarkinJ. F.FoelschP. A.LevyK. N.HullJ. W.DelaneyJ. C.KernbergO. F. (2001). The development of a psychodynamic treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder: A preliminary study of behavioral change. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15, 487-495.
11.
ClarkinJ. F.LevyK. N.LenzenwegerM. F.KernbergO. F. (2007). Evaluating three treatments for borderline personality disorder: A multiwave study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 922-928.
12.
ClarkinJ. F.YeomansF. E.KernbergO. F. (2006). Psychotherapy for borderline personality: Focusing on object relations. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
CottrauxJ.NoteI. D.BoutitieF.MillieryM.GenouihlacV.YaoS. N.. . . GueyffierF. (2009). Cognitive therapy versus Rogerian supportive therapy in borderline personality disorder: Two-year follow-up of a controlled pilot study. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 78, 307-316.
15.
ElliottR.FreireE. (2007). Classical person-centered and experiential perspectives on Rogers (1957). Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44, 285-288.
16.
ElliottR. K.GreenbergL. S.LietaerG. (2004). Research on experiential psychotherapies. In LambertM. J. (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 493-539). New York: Wiley.
17.
FonagyP.BatemanA. W. (2006a). Mechanisms of change in mentalization-based treatment of BPD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 411-444.
18.
GendlinE. T. (1978). Focusing. New York, NY: Everest House.
19.
Giesen-BlooJ.van DyckR.SpinhovenP.van TilburgW.DirksenC.van AsseltT.. . . ArntzA. (2006). Outpatient psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: Randomized trial of schema-focused therapy versus transference-focused psychotherapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 649-658.
20.
GreenbergL. S.RiceL. N.ElliottR. (1993). Facilitating emotional change: The moment-by-moment process. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
21.
KelloggS. H.YoungJ. E. (2006). Schema therapy for borderline personality disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 445-458.
22.
KoonsC. R.RobinsC. J.TweedJ. L.LynchT. R.GonzalezA. M.MorseJ. Q.. . . BastianL. A. (2001). Efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy in women veterans with borderline personality disorder. Behavior Therapy, 32, 371-390.
23.
LevyK. N.ClarkinJ. F.YeomansF. E.ScottL. N.WassermanR. H.KernbergO. F. (2006). The mechanisms of change in the treatment of borderline personality disorder with transference focused psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 481-501.
24.
LinehanM. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
25.
LinehanM. M.ComtoisK. A.MurrayA. M.BrownM. Z.GallopR. J.HeardH. L.KorslundK. E. (2006). Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 757-766.
26.
LinehanM. M.DimeffL. A.ReynoldsS. K.ComtoisK. A.WelchS. S.HeagertyP.KivlahanD. R. (2002). Dialectical behavior therapy versus comprehensive validation plus 12-step for the treatment of opioid dependent women meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 67, 13-26.
27.
LinehanM. M.SchmidtH.DimeffL. A.CraftJ. C.KanterJ.ComtoisK. A. (1999). Dialectical behavior therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder and drug-dependence. American Journal on Addiction, 8, 279-292.
28.
LynchT. R.ChapmanA. L.RosenthalM. Z.KuoJ. R.LinehanM. M. (2006). Mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy: Theoretical and empirical observations. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 459-480.
29.
McGinnL. K.YoungJ. E. (1996). Schema focused therapy. In SalkovskisP. M. (Ed.), Frontiers in cognitive therapy (pp. 182-207). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
30.
McWilliamsN. (1994). Psychoanalytic diagnosis: Understanding personality structure in the clinical process. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
31.
ParisJ. (2003). Personality disorders over time: Precursors, course, and outcome. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
32.
PattersonC. H. (1984). Empathy, warmth, and genuineness in psychotherapy: A review of reviews. Psychotherapy, 21, 431-438.
33.
PattersonC. H. (1990). On being client-centered. Person-Centered Review, 5, 425-432.
34.
PattersonT. G.JosephS. (2007). Person-centered personality theory: Support from self-determination theory and positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 47, 117-139.
35.
PretzerJ. L.BeckA. T. (2005). A cognitive theory of personality disorders. In HubbleM. A.DuncanB. L.MillerS. D. (Eds.), Major theories of personality disorder (pp. 43-113). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
36.
QuinnA. (2008). A person-centered approach to the treatment of combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 48, 458-476.
37.
RogersC. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
38.
RogersC. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21, 95-103.
39.
RogersC. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework. In KochS. (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
40.
RogersC. R. (1980). A way of being. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
41.
RogersC. R.DymondR. F. (1954). Psychotherapy and personality change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
42.
RogersC. R.GendlinE. T.KieslerD. J.TruaxC. B. (1967). The therapeutic relationship and its impact: A study of psychotherapy with schizophrenics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
43.
SteinerC. (1974). Scripts people live: Transactional analysis of life scripts. New York, NY: Grove Press.
44.
TeuschL.BohmeH.FinkeJ.GastparM. (2001). Effects of client-centered psychotherapy for personality disorders alone and in combination with psychopharmacological treatment. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 70, 328-336.
45.
ThornB. E. (Ed.). (2006). Putative mechanisms of action in the psychotherapy treatment of borderline personality disorder [Special issue]. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(4).
46.
TruaxC. B.MitchellK. M. (1971). Research on certain therapist interpersonal skills in relation to process and outcome. In BerginA. E.GarfieldS. L. (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change: An empirical analysis (pp. 299-344). New York, NY: John Wiley.
47.
TurnerR. M. (2000). Naturalistic evaluation of dialectical behavior therapy-oriented treatment for borderline personality disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 7, 413-419.
48.
van BlarikomJ. (2008). A person-centered approach to borderline personality disorder. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 7, 20-36.
49.
VerheulR.van den BoschL. M. C.KoeterM. W. J.de RidderM. A. J.StijnenT.van den BrinkW. (2003). Dialectical behaviour therapy for women with borderline personality disorder: 12-month, randomised clinical trial in the Netherlands. British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 135-140.
50.
WarnerM. S. (1998). A client-centered approach to therapeutic work with dissociated and fragile process. In GreenbergL.WatsonJ.LietaerG. (Eds.), Handbook of experiential psychology (pp. 368-387). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
51.
WattsA. (1957). The way of zen. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
52.
WattsA. (Writer), & JacobsH. (Producer). (1975). A conversation with myself [Television broadcast]. San Francisco, CA: KQED. Retrieved from www.youtube.com
