Inpatient and day hospital treatment of the borderline: an integrated approach.

An integrated treatment approach to the severely ill borderline patient is outlined. Treatment is conceptualized as a process of progression along a continuum of decreasing levels of care. This involves an inpatient, day hospital, and outpatient phase of treatment. During the treatment process, there are many progressions and regressions. The overall goal is to give the patient an increasing sense of separateness, autonomy, and self-reliance.