For GPs

Resources for General Practitioners and other clinicians.  

Borderline Personality Disorder - A Practical Guide for General Practitioners Book published in 2021 from Spectrum Personality Disorder Service
Click here to purchase.

GPlearning Tempo - BPD - available to RACGP members only via gplearning.racgp.org.au

Strategies for clinicians working with someone with BPD

BPD: Diagnosis and Management in General Practice
This GP only training is designed to assist GPs in identifying the risk factors and clinical features of BPD. It reviews effective management, appropriate prescribing, involvement of families/carers and crisis management. Activity 181349 (60 mins, CPD: 2 points) 

Eating Disorders

The Clinical Takeaway: BPD

Working with Eating Disorders and Personality Disorders Webinar

Julian Nesci (Spectrum Personality Disorder Service) and Tanya Gilmartin (CEED - Centre of Excellence for Eating Disorders) discuss strategies to conceptualise and work with co-occurring personality disorders and eating disorders

Treatment Guidelines

National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Borderline Personality Disorder 
The guideline seeks to improve understanding and recognition of BPD in health services and the community and will assist health professionals to diagnose, treat and manage BPD in adolescents and adults.

These guidelines were developed by a multi-disciplinary Guideline Development Committee of clinical, consumer and carer representatives with BPD expertise. The guideline discusses a range of treatment options, including 63 recommendations covering diagnosis, management, treatment and information for supporting carers and families.

National Perinatal Mental Health Guideline (2017) - includes a section about BPD

Borderline personality disorder in pregnancy and the postnatal period: A guide for women and their families

Project Air Strategy Treatment Guidelines for Personality Disorders (2015)

Project Air Strategy Brief Intervention Manual (2015)

Project Air Strategy Parenting with Personality Disorder Intervention (2015)

Project Air Strategy Family, Partner and Carer Intervention Manual for Personality Disorders (2016)

Project Air Strategy Working with young people with complex mental health issues (2016) - developed for teachers, school counsellors principals etc

Project Air Strategy: fact sheets

Nice Guidance (National Institute for Health and Carer Excellence - UK 2015) Personality Disorders: Borderline and Antisocial Quality Standard qs88

Meeting the Challenge, Making a difference: Working effectively to support people with personality disorder in the community (UK 2014)
 

Current articles and research papers

Listed below are some papers that might be of some interest to readers who wish to learn more about research into BPD. 

Clinical Pathway for the acute inpatient care of patients with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder/BPD: Bridging the gap between evidence and practice.  Research paper available on Researchgate - Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia

Helping mothers with the emotional dysregulation of borderline personality disorder and their infants in primary care settings.
Anne Sved Williams, Gisele Apter.  The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. AFP Vol.46, No.9, September 2017

Clinician perspectives on recovery and borderline personality disorder.
Fiona Donald, Cameron Duff, Katherine Lawrence, Jillian Broadbear, Sathya Rao. The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, 2017, Vol. 12 Issue: 3, pp.199-209.

Personality disorder: A mental health priority area.
Grenyer B.S., Ng F.Y., Townsend M.L., Rao S. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2017 Jul 

The value of psychological treatment for borderline personality disorder: Systematic review and cost offset analysis of economic evaluations.  
Meuldijk, D., McCarthy, A., Bourke, M.E., & Grenyer, B.F.S. 2017

Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Perspectives of Consumers, Clinicians, Family and Carers.  
Ng, F.Y.Y., Bourke, M.E., & Grenyer, B.F.S. 2016

Missed diagnosis: The emerging crisis with Borderline Personality Disorder in older people.
J Beatson, J Broadbear, H Sivakumaran, F Moss, E Kotler, and S Rao. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Dec 2016;50(12):1139-1145.

A new intervention for people with borderline personality disorder who are also parents: A pilot study of clinician acceptability. 
McCarthy, KL, Lewis, KL, Bourke, ME, Grenyer BFS. 2016

Evaluation of changes in prescription medication use after a residential treatment program for Borderline Personality Disorder. 
J Broadbear, J Nesci, R Thomas, K Thompson, J Beatson, and S Rao. Australasian Psychiatry. 24(6): 583-588, 2016

Treatment of Personality Disorder 
A. Bateman,  J. Gunderson and R. Mulder. The Lancet  Vol 385 February 21, 2015 (need to create a login for free access)

Psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder.
Beatson, J. Rao, S. Australasian Psychiatry · October 2014. DOI: 10.1177/1039856214555531

An integrative relational step-down model of care: The Project Air Strategy for Personality Disorders. 
Grenyer, B.F.S. 2014. The ACPARIAN, 9, 8-13.

Improved prognosis for Borderline Personality Disorder: new treatment guidelines outline specific communication strategies that work
Brin F. S Grenyer.  Med J Aust 2013; 198 (9): 464-465 

Depression and borderline personality disorder.
By J Beatson and S Rao. Medical Journal of Australia 2013; 100(6 Suppl): S24-27

Tips and techniques for engaging and managing the reluctant, resistant or hostile young person. 
Louise K McCutcheon, Andrew M Chanen, Richard J Fraser, Lorelle Drew and Warrick Brewer Med J Aust 2007; 187 (7): 64.

Borderline Personality Disorder: Exploring the Lived Experiences of ACT Women and Service Providers "Not a Label. More than a Diagnosis" This study conducted by Women's Centre for Health Matters in the ACT) investigated the experiences of women with lived experiences of being diagnosed or labelled with BPD in the ACT and the experiences of service providers who helped and supported them. The findings of this report highlight several areas of future work that we hope will assist in helping the ACT Government, health service providers and the range of other services who provide support to women who have been diagnosed or labelled with BPD in the ACT to improve their experiences and health outcomes. 

Research on the impact of caring for someone with BPD

Foundations for Change: BPD - Consumer' and Carers' Experiences of Carer

• Summary Report
• Part 1 - Consumers: Experiences of CONSUMERS with the Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
• Part 2: Carers: Experiences of CARERS with the Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Burden and support needs of carers of persons with borderline personality disorder: a systematic review (2013) by Rachel Bailey (University of Wollongong) and Brin F. S Grenyer (University of Wollongong) Download

Family Experience of Borderline Personality Disorder Jan Giffin (2008) ANZ Journal of Family Therapy Volume 29 Number 3 2008 pp. 133–138. May be accessed Download