The Oxford Handbook of Borderline Personality Disorder

The classification of personality disorders, including BPD, is undergoing a paradigm shift away from traditional diagnostic categories in favor of dimensional systems such as DSM-5's Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) and the trait-based diagnostic system for personality disorders adopted in ICD-11. Many researchers have argued that dimensional systems are a more valid approach to characterizing patient difficulties because they better account for heterogeneity within diagnostic categories and comorbidity with other forms of psychopathology. Given the shifting tides in research and classification, this handbook characterizes the past four decades of research focused on etiologic and maintaining factors relevant for BPD, including the development of at least 10 evidence-based treatments, and explicitly situates this literature within dimensional, personality-based conceptualizations of psychopathology. This volume serves as a bridge between extant conceptualizations of BPD and the field's likely shift to a trait-based approach to diagnosis and treatment. The Oxford Handbook of Borderline Personality Disorder includes chapters to ground readers in leading theoretical conceptualizations of BPD, orient them to cutting edge assessment and treatment approaches based on these conceptualizations, and consider how unique patient presentations impact the theory, assessment, and treatment of BPD. Summary chapters throughout synthesize this work and point to future developments in our understanding of and care for BPD.