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Biomedical subjects

D F Dawson

Publications and source records attributed to D F Dawson.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Relationship management and the borderline patient.

Treating a patient with borderline personality disorder is fraught with peril. Some psychotherapies and medications seem to make matters worse, yet these very patients are some of the most persistent in demanding help. This happens because the context of treatment, the traditional physician-patient social contract, and the personal and professional impulses of the physician can actually feed and reinforce the patient's pathological behaviour. Relationship management offers a way to understand the problem and to handle it.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1988

Treatment of the borderline patient, relationship management.

The author suggests that not the borderline syndrome itself but many of the worst behaviours of borderline patients are essentially iatrogenic. To do no harm should be the primary goal of any therapist encountering a patient exhibiting borderline features. Management of the patient-therapist relationship is paramount and may be in itself the most effective and safe treatment for both crisis situations and longer therapy. A conceptual model borrowing from and bridging self psychology and interpersonal theory is described. This model leads to a reframing or new interpretation of borderline symptoms and therapists' reactions. Realtionship management guidelines and specific interventions are suggested.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗