New Treatments & Clinical Trials for Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder affects about 1.4% of U.S. adults and is marked by intense emotions, unstable relationships, and fear of abandonment. Standard treatment centers on specialized therapy like dialectical behavior therapy, which helps people manage emotions and reduce self-harm. Medication typically addresses specific symptoms like depression or anxiety rather than BPD itself.

What's actually going on in research

Trials are testing whether certain drugs can directly address emotional instability and impulsivity in BPD, including mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and newer agents that target specific brain receptors. Researchers are also studying how childhood trauma shapes the disorder, testing modified therapy approaches, and examining whether treatments for related conditions might help BPD symptoms.

What to know before you search

Eligibility typically requires a formal BPD diagnosis, often with criteria around symptom severity, recent self-harm or suicidal thoughts, and willingness to engage in therapy components.

What types of trials are currently open

• Medication trials — Testing mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and other drugs to see if they reduce emotional instability, impulsivity, or self-harm in BPD.
• Therapy trials — Comparing different types of psychotherapy, including modifications to dialectical behavior therapy and trauma-focused approaches.
• Combination trials — Testing medication plus therapy together to see if combining treatments works better than either alone.
• Prevention studies — Working with teens showing early BPD symptoms to test whether early intervention can change the disorder's course.
• Brain imaging studies — Using MRI and other scans to understand how BPD affects brain circuits and whether treatments change brain function.