Book Reviews

Overcoming Borderline Personality Disorder: A Family Guide for Healing and Change

Ruth Dunne reviews Personality Disorder: A Family Guide for Healing and Change by Valerie Porr MA published by Oxford University Press 2010

Valerie Porr is the President and founder of the TARA National Association for Personality Disorder which is based in New York. Her daughter was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 1990 and she found that there was little information available about the condition or that seemed relevant to her experiences. She started a support group to help provide the information that families so needed. In 1993 she heard Dr Marsha Lineham speak about Dialectical Behavioural Treatment (DBT), which combines the strategies of behavioural therapy with Eastern Mindfulness, and which was being used to effectively treat those with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. She was impressed by and became an advocate for and trained in DBT. In 1994 she founded TARA APD [(Treatment and Research Advancements National Association for Personality Disorder) which is a not-for-profit organisation.