ABSTRACT
Threats to life and threats of serious harm alike constitute issues of safety. Threats to life include suicide risk, self-mutilation, ongoing or potential physical violence, severe eating disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, and a potentially life-threatening medical condition. Psycho pharmacology can be a rapidly acting treatment for destabilization caused by prolonged sleep deprivation, severe psychosis, or severe mood destabilization. In the long run, however, such compensatory strategies are usually difficult to maintain, and addressing the deficits, characterological dysfunction, or trauma sequelae interfering with sustaining an alliance may need to be incorporated into the therapy plan and given early priority. Herein lie goals that increase self-understanding enhance health and optimal personal functioning, and increase the patient's psychological resilience to future stress by changing lifestyle and thinking habits and reassessing life goals. Modalities and techniques are used as tools to accomplish the goals and strategies dictated by the treatment model.
