ABSTRACT
While therapeutic intervention with adolescents has historically emphasized treatment of pathologies, development of strengths has become a more prominent treatment focus, often yielding more sustainable and perceived beneficial short- and long-term outcomes. Narcissism, regression, and attachment are considered factors in the etiology of borderline personality structure, as well as being characteristics of adolescent development. Reflection within the context of narrative process has been found lacking in persons with borderline traits, and self-harm and diffuse sense of self are risk factors for borderline personality disorder. In this chapter, the case of a 16-year-old African American cisgender young woman named Janelle, who has exhibited some traits of borderline personality organization, is described through the lens of these phenomena. Specifically, Janelle’s strengths are addressed through a collaborative group narrative directive, wherein she is able to self-define as well as contemplate deficits for the purpose of fostering development of autonomous self-state regulation.
