Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism by Otto Kernberg "("...includes a careful phenomenological description of borderline personalities as well as numerous comments about treatment possibilities and problems)."

American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder American Psychiatric Association "With Up to 3 Hours of Category 1 CME Credit (ending October 2006) The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. The APA designates this educational activity for up to 3.0 hours of Category 1 credit toward  the AMA Physicians Recognition Award and for the CME requirement of the APA. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity...
Contents: Introduction. Overview of guideline development process.
Part A: Treatment Recommendations for Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Executive summary of recommendations. Coding systems. General considerations. Summary of recommendations. Formulation and implementation of a treatment plan. The initial assessment. Principles of psychiatric management. Principles of treatment selection. Specific treatment strategies for the clinical features of borderline personality disorder. Special Features influencing treatment. Comorbidity. Problematic substance use. Violent behavior and antisocial traits. Chronic self-destructive behavior. Childhood trauma and PTSD. Dissociative features. Psychosocial stressors. Gender. Cultural factors. Age. Risk management issues. General considerations. Suicide. Anger, impulsivity, and violence. Boundary violations.
Part B: Background Information and Review of Available Evidence. Disease definition, epidemiology, and natural history. Definition and core clinical features. Assessment. Differential diagnosis. Epidemiology. Natural history and course. Review and synthesis of available evidence. Issues in interpreting the literature. Review of psychotherapy and other psychosocial treatments. Review of pharmacotherapy and other somatic treatments.
Part C: Future Research Needs. Psychotherapy. Pharmacotherapy and other somatic treatments.
Appendixes: Psychopharmacological treatment algorithms. Individuals and organizations that submitted comments.

Personalities : Master Clinicians Confront the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder by Gerben Hellinga (Editor), Bert Van Luyn (Editor), Henk-Jan Dalewijk (Editor) "(In question-and-answer format, 14 therapists discuss their very different approaches to the treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder. They discuss general principles of their treatment methods, their professional paths, and their differences, as well as explaining what they would do in specific situations (such as a chance encounter with a patient at a social gathering). A brief biography precedes each interview. The therapists are Gerald Adler, Salman Akhtar, Lorna Smith Benjamin, John Clarkin, Robert Cloninger, Arthur Freeman, Glenn Gabbard, Otto Kernberg, Marsha Linehan, John Livesley, James Masterson, Lawrence Rockland, Michael Stone, and Jeffrey Young)."

Shorter Term Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorders by John D. Preston Psy.D. (Initially the author presents a very important problem in treating BPDs - one that I have always felt. When discussing long term therapy, he states "..I suspect that only a tiny percent of borderline patients can afford such treatment." Also discussed are the limitations that some HMOs have that prevent treating the BPD. He also states "Borderline patients are often so dysfunctional that they do not have the ability to earn a good income and/or they experience significant occupational instability...The bottom line is this: These people who suffer so much cannot afford long term treatment..." He discusses BPD symptomology, therapeutic strategies and even discusses how the limbic system in the brain is damaged and how medication can help).

Cognitive Therapy of Borderline Personality Disorder

Biological and Neurobehavioral Studies of Borderline Personality Disorder edited by Kenneth R. Silk, M.D. (EXCELLENT book in examining "exclusively biological and neurobehavioral aspects of borderline personality disorder...provides an overview of current research trends in this area and reviews a wide range of studies employing pharmacological probes, structural and functional brain imaging, and neuropsychological testing...The final chapters consider the implications of these studies for clinicians' evaluation, care, and pharmacotherapeutic treatment of their borderline patients and reflect on the future course of biological and neurobehavioral research in borderline personality disorder)."

Borderline Personality Disorder: Tailoring the Psychotherapy to the Patient by Leonard Horwitz, Ph.D., Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., Jon G. Allen, Ph.D., Siebolt H. Frieswyk, Ph.D., Donald B. Colson, Ph.D., Gavin E. Newsom, M.S.W., and Lolafaye Coyne, Ph.D. "(...explores the challenge of treating patients with borderline personality disorder...The book begins with a review of the clinical and research literature pertaining to the treatment of borderline patients. It presents a unique, empirically based intensive study of three borderline patients... research methodology is reviewed, and clinically oriented descriptions of the three patients, their psychotherapy processes, and their outcomes are included. Following an overall summary of results, conclusions regarding the differential indications for supportive versus expressive emphasis in psychotherapy are discussed...the reader is provided with increased insight into what is most effective with what kind of patient at a given point in the therapy process)."

Borderline Personality Disorder: A Multidimensional Approach by Joel Paris, M.D. "(The etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is essentially unknown...much of what has been suggested thus far for the management of BPD has proved impractical in a majority of cases." The book "presents a practical approach to the management of patients with this disorder...provides a broader view of the etiology of BPD than has been presented in previous studies..." The book "has two goals: 1. To build a comprehensive theory of etiology that takes into account biological, psychological, and social factors 2. To suggest treatment guidelines that are consistent with this theory and that are based on the findings of clinical trials)."

Role of Sexual Abuse in the Etiology of Borderline Personality Disorder edited by Mary C. Zanarini, Ed. D. "(This books provides both the factual and the historical contexts of sexual abuse in BPD. It presents the latest findings regarding the impact of traumatic childhood experiences on the development of BPD. This new generation of research is unique in that it assesses a range of pathological childhood experiences rather than focusing solely on the parameters of abuse. The book covers many topics, including evolving perspectives on the etiology of BPD, childhood factors associated with the development of BPD, and the relationship between self-destructive behavior and pathological childhood experiences in BPD. In addition, highly regarded clinicians in this area describe useful clinical approaches to the treatment of borderline patients with an abuse history)."

The Challenge of the Borderline Patient:  Competency in Diagnosis and Treatment by Jerome Kroll (Interesting book taking a look a the diagnosis and treatment of the BPD. I found the book to be quite interesting and knowledgeable. The author states "The basic and underlying cause of the borderline personality disorder is an affective disorder....Since mood, especially mood disorder, is viewed as a primarily biological function, the role of life events and experiential factors is relatively unimportant in the development and maintenance of borderline personality features." He also discusses countertransference, pharmacology, and his thoughts on how to counsel borderlines).

Self-Mutilation: Theory, Research, and Treatment by Barent W. Walsh (Editor), Paul M. Rosen (Editor) (Recommended by SAFE at www.selfinjury.com . From Book News, Inc. , February 1, 1989 - "Thorough treatment of a disturbing phenomenon. Provides insight for the broad range of mental health professionals who come in contact with self-destructive behaviors)."

Brief Therapy and Eating Disorders

Technical Factors in the Treatment of the Severely Disturbed Patient by Peter Giovacchini and L. Boyer

Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders by Glen O. Gabbard