Addresses the issues borderline patients face in their daily lives and the attendant treatment dilemmas therapists confront. This book offers a stance for engaging this troubled and troublesome population, focusing on the first stage of therapy, during which a constant attachment must be formed between the borderline patient and the therapist.

This book clarifies the issues borderline patients face in their daily lives and the attendant treatment dilemmas therapists confront. The authors offer a clear and concise stance for engaging this troubled and troublesome population, focusing in particular on the first stage of therapy, the time during which a constant attachment must be formed between the borderline patient and the therapist. This first phase of treatment is neither quick nor easy to resolve; a guide to its management can make the difference between a successful treatment and one that flounders.