Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Reviews the book, Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder by John G. Gunderson with Paul S. Links (see record 2014-12597-000). After publicizing the results of a randomized controlled trial on general psychiatric management that showed similar outcomes compared with dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Links joined forces with Gunderson to develop a treatment manual focused on helping the nonspecialist understand and treat the condition. The resulting work is one that is full of the wisdom of years of clinical experience, guided by science, and expressed in clear principles, unencumbered by the complicated psychiatric jargon of yesteryear. Gunderson and Links changed the term �general psychiatric management� to �good psychiatric management,� or GPM, for the purpose of emphasizing the utility of the practice as good enough. The book works for 2 main reasons. First, it is clear and tackles all of the major decision points in treating someone with bipolar disorder (BPD) and then addresses all of the typical problems that may arise in the therapeutic relationship. Second, the authors provide descriptive case examples punctuated with �decision points,� which present the reader with a set of choices encountered in the therapeutic relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)