Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder - by Blaise Aguirre & Gillian Galen (Paperback)

About the Book

Written by Blaise Aguirre--a prominent psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD)--Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder offers a new, mindfulness-based approach to emotion regulation and the common symptoms associated with BPD. The mindfulness treatments outlined in this book are based on the author's highly successful program at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, and are drawn from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a proven-effective treatment for BPD.

Book Synopsis

If you are like many others living with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you know what it's like to be overwhelmed by intense and fluctuating emotions; to have difficulty with relationships; and to constantly struggle with troubling thoughts and behaviors. BPD can be especially difficult to treat, though there are ways to gain control over your symptoms and live a happier, healthier life.

Expanding on the core skill of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder will help you target and successfully manage many of the familiar symptoms of BPD. Inside, you will learn the basics of mindfulness through specific exercises, and will gain powerful insight through real-life stories from people who have BPD. If you are ready to take that first step on the path toward wellness, this book will be your guide.

Review Quotes

"Aguirre and Galen use their combined years of experience working with teens and young adults diagnosed with BPD to produce an excellent book for consumers, family members, and professionals. They review various aspects of mindfulness and how it can help individuals diagnosed with BPD reduce their suffering while increasing their capacity for pleasure and joy. The authors provide helpful instructions on how to set up a formal mindfulness practice as well as how to practice mindfulness in daily living. I commend the authors for taking sophisticated content about mindfulness and borderline personality disorder and making it easy to understand and apply."
--Alec Miller, cofounder of Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants of Westchester and Manhattan and professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

"Finally, a practical guide for helping individuals improve their BPD symptoms by applying the core DBT skill of mindfulness. Aguirre and Galen have applied mindfulness to borderline personality disorder in a unique and precise way. This is a book many people suffering from BPD can use to improve the quality of their lives."
--Michael Roy, LCSW, founder and executive director of Clearview Women's Center for Borderline Personality Disorder

"Until relatively recently, there has been little to relieve the pronounced suffering of those living with borderline personality disorder. In their lucid and deeply compassionate book, Blaise Aguirre and Gillian Galen explore how mindfulness--the essential strategy in dialectical behavior therapy, developed by preeminent psychologist Marsha Linehan--can open the doors to genuine healing. This informative and accessible guide includes a rich set of mindfulness exercises and short case studies to bring inner ease, resourcefulness, and freedom. Whether you experience borderline symptomology, have loved ones who struggle with this condition, or are a therapist seeking to enhance your skills, this book will provide you with invaluable support and inspiration."
--Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

"Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder is an indispensable book for anyone suffering from BPD. Packed with innovative techniques and ancient wisdom, it answers the often-asked question, how can mindfulness help me with specific BPD symptoms? Aguirre and Galen have successfully answered this question with an exceptional book full of concrete exercises and personal examples. They teach us how to build the muscle of mindfulness in all areas of our lives, uniting mindfulness skills with practices of compassion, meditation, and self-reflection. I've found this book to be an essential companion to Marsha Linehan's Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder, complimenting and expanding on the critical foundation of core mindfulness by helping us apply awareness and compassion to ourselves, our relationships, and the world we live in. My copy of Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder is already highlighted and dog-eared after only one reading, and I am certain this valuable book will be an enduring resource and inspiration for all those on the path of BPD recovery."
--Kiera Van Gelder, author of The Buddha and the Borderline

"Aguirre and Galen have provided an outstanding contribution to those practicing, learning, or teaching mindfulness. Both the concepts and examples equally serve the novice and the expert, making the book a must-have resource for everyone. Every personal, professional, and public library should have this book on its shelf."
--Perry D. Hoffman, PhD, president of the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder

"Aguirre and Galen have written a lucid, elegant, and practical book. Speaking directly to the individual with borderline personality disorder, they offer accessible explanations and instructions for applying ancient mindfulness practices to current suffering, destructive urges, waves of emotional pain, and endangered relationships--all in the service of building a life worth living. The authors are effective, even ingenious, in showing how to use each of the six core mindfulness skills in dialectical behavior therapy to address each of the painful features of borderline personality disorder, which include feelings of emptiness, identity disturbances, episodes of dissociation and paranoia, and self-hatred. The vignettes are true-to-life, the explanations of neuroscience and Buddhism are understandable, the prescribed practices are immediately useful, and the whole package is presented with a maximum of clarity, a minimum of jargon, and a tone of compassion. I can't wait to prescribe this book to my patients; indeed, I think it has already made me a better teacher!"
--Charles Swenson, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, with a private practice of psychiatry and psychotherapy in Northampton, MA

"Blaise Aguirre and Gillian Galen's book offers positive coping skills and real inspiration to people working to move beyond the suffering arising from their struggles with BPD. This clear presentation of the practices of mindfulness and loving kindness ties in closely with their work as dialectical behavior therapists, and is a most valuable contribution."
--Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, and cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society

"Bringing together dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), biological science, and mindfulness traditions with their own clinical wisdom, Aguirre and Galen offer a comprehensive user's guide for managing the mental anguish associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Whether already experienced or brand new to DBT, those recovering from BPD will find their insights and practices invaluable for growing in self-acceptance and effective living. I highly recommend this book to individuals who feel trapped in a life of suffering."
--Seth R. Axelrod, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine

"This small gem of a book takes the reader on a quiet, but powerful journey of healing as the practice of mindfulness is systematically applied to the core problem areas of borderline personality disorder. The authors show exactly how one can take a life filled with suicidal thoughts and self-destructive behaviors and change it by applying mindfulness skills to underlying dysregulation of emotions, thoughts, behaviors, relationships, and experiences of self. They do this through clear explanations, step-by-step instructions, and excellent case examples. By the end, one has a deep appreciation of the central role of mindfulness practice in overcoming borderline pathology and building a live worth living. It also offers actual clinical skills to help patients develop mindfulness skills where it counts. This is an invaluable book for sufferers of BPD and for all who work with them."
--Don Ross, MD, medical director of the Retreat at Sheppard Pratt and clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland

About the Author

Blaise Aguirre, MD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is expert in child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and psychopharmacology. He is the medical director of 3East at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. Aguirre has been a staff psychiatrist at McLean since 2000 and is widely recognized for his extensive work in the treatment of mood and personality disorders in adolescents. He is the author of Parenting Your Child with Autism; Biographies of Disease: Depression; Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents; and Helping Your Troubled Teen.

Gillian Galen, PsyD, is an instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is the assistant director of training and senior psychologist at 3East at the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital--a unique, residential DBT program for young women exhibiting self-endangering behaviors and borderline personality traits. She specializes in adolescent psychotherapy, including DBT. She has a particular interest in using mindfulness and yoga in the treatment of BPD and other psychiatric illnesses. Galen has been a registered yoga instructor since 2008.