Borderline Personality Disorder: A Patient's Guide to Taking Control

by Arthur Freeman, Gina M. Fusco Psy. D.

Overview

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently creates turmoil, dysfunction, and impairment in the lives of diagnosed people, as well as among their families, friends, and colleagues.

The disorder and lack of control that characterize BPD are, however, organized around consistent habits. The Taking Control Program presented by Fusco and Freeman targets these patterns, helping people understand, address, and, eventually, alter them for the better. Borderline Personality Disorder: A Patient’s Guide to Taking Control is your means to begin to take command of your life by following the therapeutic course described in these pages. Chapter by chapter, you will explore the nine basic patterns that typify BPD. Once you understand each of these patters, you will then assess the degree to which you exhibit any number of those patterns and learn various strategies that you can adopt to address those habits. The Patient’s Guide provides a step-by-step cognitive program rich in worksheets and exercises to facilitate your personal process of self-examination and problem solving. Fusco and Freeman offer those diagnosed with BPD, as well as their therapists, invaluable guidance in negotiating the pitfalls of BPD as you move ahead toward the prospect of retaking control over your life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393703535
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	11/17/2003
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Arthur Freeman, EdD, is chief psychologist and director of training at Sheridan Shores Care and Rehabilitation Center, Chicago. He lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Gina M. Fusco, Psy. D., is a licensed psychologist in Philadelphia. She is a System of Care Clinical Director for Alternative Behavioral Services, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare program for high-risk adolescents. She has led clinical diagnostic teams for juvenile detention centers, and has created several crisis intervention programs for psychiatric hospitals. She has authored and coauthored chapters on the treatment of crisis-prone patients, crisis intervention, and personality disorders. She lectures at The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
	Introduction: Borderline Personality Disorder & Understanding the Development of Schemas	3
	Your Personality	3
	How Do You Know if You Have BPD?	4
	Schemas	6
	Schema Change	9
	How to Use This Book	10
	Summary	15
Chapter 1	Loneliness: Avoiding Being Alone & Isolated	16
	Vignettes	17
	What You Would Like To Change	17
	Self Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	18
	The Worksheets	18
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	40
Chapter 2	Relationships: Always A Challenge	41
	Vignettes	42
	What You Would Like to Change	43
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	43
	The Worksheets	43
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	68
Chapter 3	Defining Yourself: Who Am I Anyway?	69
	Vignettes	70
	What You Would Like To Change	71
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	71
	The Worksheets	71
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	93
Chapter 4	Do You Look Before You Leap? Reducing Risks	94
	Vignettes	94
	What You Would Like To Change	95
	Self Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	95
	The Worksheets	95
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	117
Chapter 5	Self-Injury: An Unnecessary Solution	118
	Vignettes	119
	What You Would Like To Change	119
	Self Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	119
	The Worksheets	120
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	146
Chapter 6	Emotional Control: Too Many Moods in Too Little Time	147
	Vignettes	148
	What You Would Like To Change	148
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	149
	The Worksheets	149
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	172
Chapter 7	Feeling Empty: There Should Be Something Inside	173
	Vignettes	173
	What You Would Like To Change	174
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	174
	The Worksheets	175
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	196
Chapter 8	Seeing Red: Keeping Your Cool	197
	Vignettes	197
	What You Would Like to Change	198
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	198
	The Worksheets	198
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	222
Chapter 9	Suspicion: Who Can I Trust?	223
	Vignettes	223
	What You Would Like To Change	224
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	224
	The Worksheets	224
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	247
Chapter 10	Inside & Outside: Views of Yourself	248
	Vignettes	248
	What You Would Like To Change	249
	Self-Monitoring: How Do I Know What My Perceptions Are?	249
	The Worksheets	249
	Challenging What You Know & Do: Taking Control	271
	Wrapping Up: Taking Control of Borderline Personality Disorder	272
	References	273