Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice 6th Edition - Personality and Borderline Personality Disorder: Management of Emotional Dysregulation and Self-Harm Related

Review Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice 6th Edition - Personality and Borderline Personality Disorder: Management of Emotional Dysregulation and Self-Harm related questions and content

A client with borderline personality disorder tells the nurse, I?m afraid to get on a train because we?ll probably get into a wreck. Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate?

  • A. Have you had a bad experience riding a train?
  • B. What are the chances of that actually happening?
  • C. Now you know that won?t happen.
  • D. Have you thought about going by automobile?
Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Challenging the irrational fear by asking about the likelihood of a train wreck (B) gently encourages reality-testing without dismissing the client?s anxiety, a therapeutic approach in BPD. Asking about past experiences (A) may reinforce fear, dismissing the fear (C) is invalidating, and suggesting alternatives (D) avoids addressing the fear.