Family therapy for adolescents diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder

Abstract

The family therapy of twenty-four cases of adolescents diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder is described. In comparison to matched psychiatric controls, the families of these adolescents were more angry and irritable and had higher rates of sexual abuse and sibling psychopathology. Relationship difficulties, in particular oscillating attachments, were frequently seen in therapy, which was more tumultuous with frequent impulsive acts of self-harm.

Structural Family Therapy with a Client Diagnosed with Dissociative Disorder

“…11 The effectiveness of SFT has also been seen in psychosomatic illnesses, 22 eating disorders, 23 drug abuse, 24 and borderline personality disorder. 25 …”

Borderline Personality Disorder: towards a systemic formulation

“…There are very few recent papers on systemic approaches to BPD. James and Vereker (1996) concentrate on issues for family therapy with adolescents who have been diagnosed with BPD. They side-step the issue of the diagnosis, mentioning that it is controversial, but arguing that they are using it pragmatically, to describe 'a group of adolescents within their families whose presentation, relationship patterns and treatment pose particular and perhaps distinctive problems and therefore deserve attention' (p. 270).…”

Perceptions That Patients Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder Have of Their Families

“…Object relations theorists acknowledge the influence that the environment and therefore primary relationships have on the development of per sonality (St. Clair, 1996). Some authors also recognise that the irreconcilable nature of serious personality disorders is related to the developmental experiences of early childhood (Beitchman, Zucker, Hood, et al, 1992;James & Vereker, 1996;Kamsner & McCabe, 2000;Liotti, Pasquini, & The Italian Group For The Study Of Dissocia tion, 2000;Sabatelli & Anderson, 1991 ;Wilkins, 2002). More specifically, Kernberg (1975) is of the opinion that BPD patients regularly experienced extreme frustration and intense aggression towards their parents during the first few years of their lives.…”

“…The family provides a primary context for understanding how family members function within their relationships with one another and how the respective members behave towards one another. Just as relationships within a system reciprocally influence one another, and behaviour patterns are set by repetitive interac tion with other people (Becvar & Becvar, 2003 ;Corey, 2000), repeated exposure to the impulsive and affectively unstable characteristics of a parent can cause and strengthen the same unstable behaviour patterns and problematic characteristics in children (Allen & Farmer, 1996;James & Vereker, 1996;Kamsner & McCabe, 2000;Shachnow et al, 1997;Wilkins, 2002). Various studies indicate that children exposed to early traumatic experiences (such as sexual molestation, psychological and physical abuse, neglect, observation of domestic violence, early separation experiences, broken families, and living with a parent with an impulse control or personality disorder) usually have a higher likelihood of developing BPD (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, & Swenson, 1999;Hurd, Wooding, & Noller, 1999;Liotti et al, 2000;Walsh, 1977;Weaver & Cium, 1993;Zanarini, Gunderson, Marino, Schwartz, & Frankenburg, 1989).…”