The Role of Assertive Community Treatment in the Treatment of People with Borderline Personality Disorder.
It is known that Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is being used to treat people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a puzzling trend given the lack of empirical support for this practice and the consensus that reserving ACT for a carefully selected population is critical to the sustainability of this costly intervention. Little is known about the contributors to this phenomenon and the ways in which ACT programs have adapted to the influx of patients with BPD. Many ACT programs in the US and Canada have integrated Dialectical Behavioral Therapy into the regular ACT programming, a practice that also lacks rigorous evidence of effectiveness. We provide a framework for policy-makers to decide on the optimal role of ACT in the continuum of care for people with BPD, and offer policy recommendations to address this phenomenon. There is an urgent need to generate the missing evidence and to improve and expand the services available to people with BPD, particularly those who are now being treated on ACT programs.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (MHL); Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants of Westchester, LLC (SR); InterAct of Michigan, Inc. and Western Michigan University School of Social Work (RW); and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (TFW). This work was completed while Dr. Reynolds was affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
Marcela
M
Horvitz-Lennon
Sarah
S
Reynolds
Randy
R
Wolbert
Thomas F
TF
Witheridge