Initially, it was suggested that borderline disorder bordered on, or overlapped with schizophrenia, non-schizophrenic psychoses, and neuroses such as anxiety and depressive disorders. 3 Because it overlapped with so many other psychiatric diagnoses, it was commonly believed to be a “wastebasket” diagnosis, lacking in diagnostic precision and validity, and only useful for patients who did not fall clearly into other diagnostic categories. It was also thought that the disorder responded very poorly to treatment. Unfortunately, some mental health professionals, apparently unfamiliar with the current scientific literature, still think that this is true.
However, many research studies have now shown that borderline disorder does have diagnostic validity and integrity. 3 Some of these studies indicate clearly that the disorder does not overlap with schizophrenia. Also, the disorder does appear to be a distinct diagnostic entity, although it is associated frequently with affective disorders such as major depressive and bipolar II disorders, with other disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and substance use disorders, and with several other personality disorders.
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Finally, medications and specific forms of psychotherapy have been shown to be effective in the treatment of borderline disorder, thereby giving substantial hope to those who suffer from it, and to their families and friends.
The following is a brief historical review of the major advances in our understanding and treatment of borderline disorder.
- Descriptions of individuals demonstrating the symptoms of borderline disorder were first mentioned in the medical literature almost 3000 years ago.
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- In 1938, the American psychoanalyst Adolph Stern first described most of the symptoms that are now considered as diagnostic criteria of borderline disorder.5 He suggested the possible causes of the disorder, and what he believed to be the most effective form of psychotherapy for these patients. Finally, he named the disorder by referring to patients with the symptoms he described as “the border line group.”
- The psychoanalyst Robert Knight, in the 1940s, introduced the concepts of ego psychology into his description of borderline disorder. Ego psychology deals with mental functions that enable us to successfully integrate our thoughts and feelings and to develop effective responses to life around us. He suggested that people with borderline disorder have impairments in many of these functions, and he referred to them as “borderline states.” 4
- The next major contribution in the field was made by the psychoanalyst Otto Kernberg. In the 1960s, he proposed that mental disorders were determined by three distinct personality organizations: psychotic, neurotic and “borderline personality.” Kernberg has been a strong proponent of modified psychoanalytic therapy for some patients with borderline disorder. 4
- In 1968, Roy Grinker and his colleagues published results of the first research conducted on patients with borderline disorder, which he referred to as the “borderline syndrome.” 4
- The next major advance in the field occurred in 1975 when John Gunderson and Margaret Singer published a widely acclaimed article that synthesized the relevant, published information on borderline disorder, and defined its major characteristics. Gunderson then published a specific research instrument to enhance the accurate diagnosis of borderline disorder. This instrument enabled researchers over the world to verify the validity and integrity of borderline disorder. Subsequently, borderline personality disorder first appeared in DSM-III as a bona fide psychiatric diagnosis in 1980. 4
- In 1979, John Brinkley, Bernard Beitman and Robert Friedel proposed that medications, specifically low doses of neuroleptics, are effective in reducing the symptoms of borderline disorder. Friedel's research team published support for this proposal in 1986 in one of the first two placebo-controlled studies of any medication in subjects with borderline disorder. A similar finding was reported in the same journal by Paul Soloff's research team. Since then, eight other controlled studies of similar agents have supported the original finding, with only one study failing to do so. In addition, medications in other classes have been reported to have efficacy in treating the symptoms of borderline disorder. Some of these studies have been replicated, but not as extensively as those involving neuroleptics and antipsychotic agents. 6
- In the 1980s, the first of a number of neuroimaging, biochemical and genetic studies were published indicating that borderline disorder is associated with biological disturbances in brain function, some of which appear to be genetically transmitted. 4
- In the early 1990s, Marsha Linehan introduced Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a specific and well documented form of psychotherapy for patients with borderline disorder prone to self injurious behavior and who require and request frequent, brief hospitalizations. Since then, other forms of psychotherapy have been developed that are specifically designed for borderline disorder.
- Over the past decade, two lay advocacy groups have been founded, the Treatment and Research Advancements Association for Personality Disorder (TARA APD), and the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA- BPD). The missions of these organizations are to increase the awareness of borderline disorder and its treatments, provide support to those suffering from the disorder, and to their families and friends, enhance the federal and private research funding dedicated to borderline disorder, and to decrease the stigma associated with the disorder.7
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