What is BPD?
The structure of a school environment can be a protective factor that, concurrent with BPD treatment, supports recovery. The challenge many parents face is educating school professionals about their child’s needs. Because many school professionals are not familiar with the diagnosis of BPD, they may not be aware that it can require specific communication skills, emotional supports, and educational accommodations to support learning.
Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity. A psychiatrist or psychologist can make a diagnosis of BPD if an individual meets five or more of the following criteria listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition):
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
A pattern of unstable intense personal relationships characterized by alternating extremes of idealization and devaluation.
Identity disturbance marked by a persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
Impulsivity in at least two areas which can be potentially self-damaging (spending, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating, etc.).
Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-harm behavior.
Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (irritability, anxiety, etc.) which can last up to few hours, rarely more than a few days.
Chronic feelings of emptiness.
Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (frequent displays of temper, physical fights, etc.).
Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.
