Cognitive-behavioral approaches to treating borderline and self-mutilating patients.

The cases of three self-injurious patients suffering with borderline personality disorder are briefly presented. From this clinical base, the consultant describes a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapeutic model and how it might be applied to the treatment of these and similar patients. A dialectical behavioral approach is used to describe three major dichotomies and their application. The consultant also illustrates how cognitive-behavioral therapy may be integrated with more dynamic-analytic approaches, and proposes a strategy and methodology that establish and reinforce the treatment alliance in developing a treatment plan.