A Developmental Model of Borderline Personality Disorder: Understanding Variations in Course and Outcome

by Patricia Hoffman Judd, Thomas H. McGlashan

A Developmental Model of Borderline Personality Disorder is a landmark work on this difficult condition. The book emphasizes a developmental approach to BPD based on an in-depth study of inpatients at Chestnut Lodge in Rockville, Maryland, during the years 1950 through 1975 and the authors' thirty years of clinical and supervisory experience.

249 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Alasdair Ekpenyong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really thorough summary of the developmental outlines of borderline personality disorder throughout the various stages of the patient's life. Strong explanation of etiology--both biological and environmental causes. Strong discussion of specific symptoms and how those symptoms fit, contextually, into various schemas or habits of thinking that are characteristic of BPD.

Presents four case study examples of BPD patients--this was actually, overall the least relevant section, because the case studies are taken from the 50s and 60s, and some of the contexts and details of the patients' lives mid-century are so different from life today. For example, one of the patients says she does not want to get an abortion because abortion at the time was illegal. The authors are aware of the datedness of their case studies, and in each case they discuss differences between how the patients were treated at the time and how they would be treated now (now being 2003).

The book concludes with a strong discussion of overall thematic concepts and conclusions to be drawn from the BPD patient's experience. Includes recommendations and warnings for what to do and what to avoid in the one-on-one therapeutic relationship as well as in possible iatrogenic/long-term residency hospitalizations.

You'll probably get what it is you're looking for out of this book, whether you're satisfied with what they present in the immediate volume or whether you want to follow up and investigate some of the citations presented in chapters 1 and 2. This book should be part of your journey to understand BPD, and I'd recommend it for both patient and therapist.

[Ruth Minkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Discussions of the contributions of developmental factors were useful - case studies were outdated and based on such a small section of the broader patient population that I did not find them particularly useful.