New Hope for People with Borderline Personality Disorder: Your Friendly, Authoritative Guide to the Latest in Traditional and Complementary Solutions
Author: Neil R. Bockian, Nora Elizabeth Villagran, Valerie Porr
List Price: $18.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0761525726
Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (25 June, 2002)
Sales Rank: 3,839
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 2 out of 5
Informative but Disappointing
This book is loaded with an abundance of information and list of resources. If you are reading it for that purpose, you?ve found a gold mind.I bought this book hoping to find new concrete help for family members of those with bpd. I was disappointed.
The chapter for the family started great, but stopped too soon. Also, the book appeared to contradict itself when it denounced boundary setting by family members when it had suggested some great books on boundaries in the self-help chapter.
I found the book, Imperfect Harmony by Coleman, to repeat the good points of the New Hope. However, that book went beyond this one with depth, compassion, challenging questions for reflection, and concrete steps. He points out the benefits of his advice for both the spouse suffering from a mental illness such as BPD as well as their spouse and their children.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Good in parts
This is an excellent overview of a difficult subject, and, as a professional in the field I enjoyed it and learned from it. As a self-help book for patients I thought it was too technical in parts. Some studies of treatment are described at length complete with their statistics. The authors are somewhat inconsistent in their demands for rigorous proof of treatment efficacy. Alternative therapies, homeopathy, and things like the Feingold diet are described in a credulous way. They are also uncritical about projective tests.
They quote DSMIV as if it was brought down from Mt Sinai by Moses. Much of what it says about personality disorders is dubious. In fact. to be honest, some of these conditions are closer to misbehavior than to illness, but I suppose that's too philosophical an issue for a book like this to deal with.
They should have mentioned hotlines in their discussion of suicide.
The descriptions of etiology obscure the fact that most findings are fuzzy and inconclusive. They say the parents are not to blame then state that "studies have shown that approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of people with BPD have a history of being abused sexually."
I thought Chapter 3 (Psychotherapy) was the best, with lucid explanations of the different approaches and a good summary of Linehan's work. There are very useful appendixes with referral sources and WEB sites.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Wonderful
One of the most comprehensive and enlightening books on the subject! Similar Products
The Stop Walking on Eggshells Workbook: Practical Strategies for Living With Someone Who Has Borderline Personality Disorder
The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders: An Interactive Self-Help Guide
I Hate You, Don't Leave Me : Understanding the Borderline Personality
Book Index