Borderline Personality Disorder Case Study

Borderline Personality Disorder According to AAPEL, eight to ten percent of people with Borderline Personality Disorder will end up committing suicide (2002). This is an astonishing statistic. When dealing with clients who have Borderline Personality Disorder there should always be someone the client can call if they feel like harming themselves or others. As an undergraduate, my professor told the class before she started teaching at UW-Oshkosh she specifically dealt with clients who had Borderline Personality Disorder. She said she gave each client her phone number and said they can call anytime. However, she did give an hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. where there was someone else who would take the calls so she could have dinner with her family.

Trauma is experienced anywhere from birth to the early twenties which is a crucial factor behind disturbances in personality development (Bowins, 2010). Trauma is shown to be a contributing environmental factor to the development of Borderline Personality Disorder. Unlike other Personality Disorders, defense mechanisms are repeated at an early stage of development despite the inappropriateness, and regulating defense mechanisms are impaired (Bowins, 2010). The large range of behaviors that are experienced from Borderline Personality Disorder might be explained by the effects of trauma on defense mechanisms (Bowins, 2010). It could be argued that trauma at an early age is correlated to learning poor defense mechanism which can lead to Borderline Personality

In order to be diagnosed with BPD five of the nine diagnostic criteria need to be met. If five of the nine criteria are not met, then the therapist should diagnose the client with something else. The diagnostic criteria are as follows. The first criterion is wild or distraught fear and anxiety to try to avoid real or imagined abandonment. The second criterion is a pattern of unstable and intense relationships that are characterized by switching between extremes of everything being perfect and reduction of worth. The third criterion is identity disturbance. There is a clearly noticeable and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self. The fourth criterion is there is an impulsivity in two areas that are potentially self-damaging to the client. These impulsivities could be gambling, sex, reckless driving, excessive shopping, substance abuse, drug abuse, binge eating, etc. The fifth criterion is repeated suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self- harming behaviors such as cutting. The sixth criterion is rapidly shifting between different emotional states; these different emotions are typically negative emotions such as anxiety or anger. These emotions typically last a few hours to possibly a few days. The seventh criterion is persistent feelings of emptiness. The eighth criterion is inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling