The HYPE Clinic: an early intervention service for borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) emerges during adolescence and young adulthood and has profound effects throughout this vulnerable developmental phase and beyond. Hitherto, clinical interventions for BPD have focused on individuals with established and/or chronic forms of the disorder. However, over the past 15 years, a body of evidence has developed supporting the reliability, validity, and clinical importance of the diagnosis of BPD in adolescence, underscoring the need for prevention and early intervention for BPD. This paper describes the work of the Helping Young People Early (HYPE) Clinic in Melbourne, Australia. HYPE is a novel indicated prevention and early intervention service for BPD in youth (15 to 25 y of age). It uses an integrated, team-based intervention model comprising time-limited cognitive analytic therapy as developed by Ryle, case management, and general psychiatric care. The HYPE intervention is supported by effectiveness data.