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Borderline Personality Disorder and Mood Disorders: Longitudinal Course and Interactions

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Borderline Personality and Mood Disorders

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is often misdiagnosed as a mood disorder, especially bipolar disorder. Mood disorder diagnostic variants that broaden the definitions of disorders often lead in clinical practice to the inappropriate use of medications, to a proliferation of medication changes, and sometimes to extensive and harmful polypharmacy aimed at addressing clinical problems that may well be the result of BPD, occurring either alone or as a comorbid condition. Examining the longitudinal course of BPD and comorbid mood disorders and their interactions over time may shed light not only on the disorder of primary importance but also, as a result, on the need to recognize and treat BPD with psychotherapy in order to achieve optimal outcomes in such cases. Results of four large-scale studies of the naturalistic, interactive course of personality disorders and mood disorders are reviewed in this chapter. The results indicate a strong interaction between BPD and major depressive disorder (MDD), suggesting overlapping psychopathologies and etiologies and weaker evidence for relationships between BPD and bipolar disorder. Research and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 2626 E. Arizona Biltmore Circle, Unit #29, Phoenix, AZ, 85016, USA

    Andrew E. Skodol MD

  2. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Andrew E. Skodol MD

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  1. Andrew E. Skodol MD
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Correspondence to Andrew E. Skodol MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA

    Lois W. Choi-Kain

  2. McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA

    John G. Gunderson

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Skodol, A.E. (2015). Borderline Personality Disorder and Mood Disorders: Longitudinal Course and Interactions. In: Choi-Kain, L., Gunderson, J. (eds) Borderline Personality and Mood Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1314-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1314-5_10

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