This book is thorough, comprehensive and very INSIGHTFUL in its description of Borderline Personality Disorder, and offers detailed lists of available treatments, medications and resources to help patients and their families deal with this desease. I know it because I suffer from BPD and Dr. Friedel describes me to a T... I am the anxious-fearful BPD sufferer with a dose of depression... I was pleasantly surprised to find a clinician who finally gets what I think and feel, something that is not very common.
Before reading this book, I had been told I was suffering from BPD, but I really did not understand what BPD was, even while attending therapy. After reading this book, I finally believe I suffer from this disorder, and I am more informed about what kind of therapist and treatment I want and deserve.
Mr. Friedel is neither reproachful nor punishing to those suffering from BDP, something that I highly appreciate. He is a flash of fresh air among the psychiatrists and psychologists I have known, who somehow believed I did not have a real problem with my emotions and myself, and therefore believed, I could completely control my actions regardless of the level of suffering I was in... (A psychiatrist after a crisis took me aside and told me he would restrain me with a force jacket if I continued asking him questions; and I was supended from therapy, of all things, at a hospital treatment program after an on-site self-destructive incident without a discussion of the reasons I was hurting myself... that goes far enough to show that patients NEED to be discriminat about who they choose as a therapist, and Dr. Friedel points this out: not all therapists are willing nor able to treat BPD patients.)
Dr. Robert O. Friedel REALLY knows what he is talking about, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about this poorly understood disorder.
We are writing to applaud the book "Borderline Personality Disorder Demystified" by Dr. Robert Friedel.
My wife and I have been deeply involved with those who have the BPD diagnosis. We have been voracious readers of virtually everything relevant to this diagnosis. Over the past four years while seeking to educate ourselves on BPD, we have become teachers of an excellent course for families touched by this disorder. When Dr. Friedel's book was first published, we adopted it as our "handbook", thanks to its easy readability and thorough coverage of the many challenging and sometimes confusing aspects of BPD. We also were touched by the author's personal exposure through his sister, and it was reassuring to gain first-hand knowledge from a practicing psychiatrist who not only runs a BPD clinic, but also is involved in research, writes scientific articles and teaches on this disorder. We offer an array of reading materials on BPD in our family classes, yet have found no other book as versatile, factual and useful for the entire family including the person with the BPD diagnosis. People enter our classes with expressions of helplessness and despair and it has been of great comfort to add Dr. Friedel's message of inspiration and hope. Again, we enthusiastically recommend this book as a "must read". J. Hall
