By and large, psychiatrists aren’t terribly comfortable when it comes to diagnosing and treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). Fortunately, diagnosing BPD is relatively easy and can often be done in 20–30 minutes. The key is to have a systematic approach, to ask high-yield questions, and to know how to efficiently follow up on responses.

Marsha Linehan developed DBT to help patients with BPD (Linehan MM, Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: The Guilford Press;1993), and over the past two decades it has received strong empirical support.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar disorder frequently co-occur (numbers range from 8% to 18%), although they are distinct clinical entities (Paris J et al, Compr Psychiatry 2007;48(2):145–154). A proper diagnosis guides the most effective treatment, but you’ve probably faced the difficult challenge of diagnosing these conditions, which share several clinical features.

Recently, researchers in the field of conduct disorder (CD) have proposed including a specifier to the diagnosis of CD in DSM-5 based on the presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits.

Four new antipsychotics are beginning to gain some traction in the adult market. Here is a quick low down on paliperidone, iloperidone (Fanapt), lurasidone (Latuda), and asenapine (Saphris).

Are you diagnosing a personality disorder (PD) in half of your patients? If not, you probably are not asking enough questions.

Most authorities in the world of borderline personality disorder (BPD) say that psychotherapy is the mainstay of treatment and that medications should only be used adjunctively to treat symptoms as they arise. Nevertheless, medications are used relatively frequently for this disorder.