Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: Progress and Remaining Challenges

PurposeThe main purpose of this review was to critically evaluate the literature on psychotherapies for borderline personality disorder (BPD) published over the past 5 years to identify the progress with remaining challenges and to determine priority areas for future research.MethodA systematic review of the literature over the last 5 years was undertaken.ResultsThe review yielded 184 relevant abstracts, and after applying inclusion criteria, 16 articles were fully reviewed based on the articles’ implications for future research and/or clinical practice.ConclusionOur review indicated that patients with various severities benefited from psychotherapy; more intensive therapies were not significantly superior to less intensive therapies; enhancing emotion regulation processes and fostering more coherent self-identity were important mechanisms of change; therapies had been extended to patients with BPD and posttraumatic stress disorder; and more research was needed to be directed at functional outcomes.