title: Alcohol abuse and the borderline patient.
abstract: Effective treatment of the alcohol-abusing borderline patient involves knowledge of two pathological processes. Alcoholism treatment methods and theory can have a profound effect upon the approach used with such patients, helping the therapist deal with the patient in a way that is respectful of his strengths and weaknesses. This paper describes how a knowledge of alcoholism treatment can be used in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, which is defined as the application of analytically-derived insights into motivations and resistances. Treatment of the alcoholism and the psychiatric disorder are best begun together at the outset of therapy, each method assisting the other.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000436:Alcoholics Anonymous; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D003379:Countertransference; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009289:Narcissism; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D012112:Residential Facilities; D012649:Self Concept