In the last years Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has become more and more accepted as a valid diagnosis in adolescent patients. Thus a growing interest is in the development of treatment approaches for effective early intervention. As we know from a large number of therapy studies in adult BPD, treatment as usual is not sufficiently effective. Currently the four specialized treatment approaches Dialectical –Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT), Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) and Schema-Focused Therapy (SFT) have demonstrated a good evidence base for the treatment of BPD.
In this symposium we will focus on different treatment approaches that have been developed for the treatment of BPD in adolescent patients. Streeck et al. will describe a RCT of a newly developed psychodynamic treatment approach in an adolescent inpatient setting. Kaess et al. will present data on the effectiveness of a brief cognitive behavioral intervention in adolescent NSSI and BPD. Birkhölzer and co-workers will describe a controlled multicentre study with a comparison of the treatment approaches AIT (Adolescent Identity Treatment) and DBT-A (Dialectical –Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents). In the last presentation Seiffge-Krenke will take up the issue of disturbed identity development in adolescents that is one of the core symptoms of BPD.