Treatment of borderline personality disorder and co-occurring anxiety disorders

Melanie S. Harned, Helen R. Valenstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among individuals with borderline personality disorder, with comorbidity rates of up to 90%. Anxiety disorders have been found to reduce the likelihood of achieving remission from borderline personality disorder over time and to increase the risk of suicide and self-injury in this population. Evidence-based treatments for borderline personality disorder have not sufficiently focused on targeting anxiety disorders, and their effects on these disorders are either limited or unknown. Conversely, evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders typically exclude suicidal, self-injuring, and seriously comorbid patients, thereby limiting their generalizability to individuals with borderline personality disorder. To address these limitations, recent research has begun to emerge focused on developing and evaluating treatments for individuals with co-occurring borderline personality disorder and anxiety disorders, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with promising initial results. However, there is a need for additional research in this area, particularly studies evaluating the treatment of anxiety disorders among high-risk and complex borderline personality disorder patients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number15
JournalF1000Prime Reports
Volume5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2013
Externally publishedYes

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