Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Adolescents With Borderline Personality Disorder

Somewhere between 11% and 22% of adolescents seeking mental health care in
outpatient clinics-and between 33% and 49% of those in inpatient units-meet the
diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite its high
prevalence, however, and the high social and economic costs that it entails, BPD
remains underdiagnosed, and sufficient training regarding its fundamentals and
clinical management is largely unavailable for mental health professionals
treating adolescents.

It is precisely these essential guidelines that
clinicians will find in the Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for
Adolescents With Borderline Personality Disorder. Adapted from Dr. John
Gunderson's good psychiatric management (GPM), a resource-efficient generalist
treatment for adults with BPD, this manual uses GPM for adolescents (GPM-A) to
demystify BPD in young people, describing common problems that arise during each
phase or aspect of treatment, from patient rejection of diagnosis and conflicts
among clinicians providing care to nonadherence to medications and concerns
about stigma.

Case vignettes that feature key decision points propose
alternative interventions and demonstrate how to apply the book's concepts in a
variety of settings. Additionally, speech bubbles throughout the handbook offer
suggestions for how to phrase explanations and interventions to communicate
effectively with adolescent patients at an appropriate level.

Although the
pragmatic GPM-A principles outlined in this book are based on real-world
experience and bolstered by scientific evidence, they are not intended to be an
end point for treatment. They are, rather, a road map to provide "good enough"
care even in the absence of specialized treatments, and clinicians are
encouraged to adjust the lessons as needed for their practice.

The
education provided in the handbook is meant to be shared with patients, their
families, schools, clinical teams, and trainees as a resource for motivation in
persevering with the difficult but worthwhile investments in treatment.