ABSTRACT
Therapeutic action has been much discussed in the psychoanalytic literature, but many of the discussions are inextricably bound to particular psychoanalytic theories. Times have changed; no longer practice in an era in which interpretation is regarded as the exclusive therapeutic arrow in the analyst’s quiver. Despite the fact that the therapeutic action of psychoanalytic psychotherapy may be unknowable, nevertheless will embark on an overview of what is known about effective treatment for borderline personality disorder, with the assumption that the research seeking to find an efficacious treatment will shed some light on therapeutic action. Two different psychodynamic psychotherapies, mentalization-based therapy and transference-based therapy, have both been shown to be efficacious for borderline personality disorder patients in randomized controlled trials. The therapeutic alliance, though, can work independently of transference interpretation, and the therapeutic action doesn’t necessarily depend on their linkage.
