It's time to end the step-child status of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), said Dr. John Gunderson. Gunderson outlined how understanding of the disorder evolved from beliefs that it was primarily a woman's illness with presumed overlap with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia. Symptoms include self-harm, suicide attempts, and cutting; affective dysregulation; and, problems with impulsive control. The work of therapists such as Marsha Linehan, among others, and results of a collaborative longitudinal study (in which Gunderson played a major role) in the 1990s, led to empirical standards for evaluating BPD.
Gunderson spoke to a standing-room only crowd emphasizing the importance of interpersonal therapy based in humanistic values. BPD afflicts between 1.4 and 5.9 percent of the population yet it receives less funding and comprises a small part of residency training. Gunderson is calling for an increase in both as well as consideration as a primary diagnosis for an Axis 1 disorder. He said it is a "good diagnosis prognosis." There appears to be no targeted medications and work on isolating genes is underway.
