Can borderline personality disorder be daignosed to a 17 year old?
At one time, borderline personality was only diagnosed in adults – it was felt that the personality had to mature. This makes sense when you consider that BPD, in its simplest definition, is an emotional immaturity. More recently, there have been studies that suggest that as many as 33% of the teen suicides made have BPD traits. Advances in treatment that suggest earlier treatment to be beneficial. Dr. Agquire, at Harvard University recently publish a book about treating teen with BPD (see http://ww.bpdFamily.com/ for a book review). There is a lot of uncertainty about diagnosing BDP. Treatment advances are new and haven’t filtered down to many practicing therapists. This field is really still in its infancy.
