[Suicidal behaviour in borderline personality disorder].

Patients with borderline personality disorder have a substantially increased risk of self-destructive and suicidal behaviour, and are often seen as difficult to treat efficiently. A strong over-sensitivity to negative happenings in life, affective instability and impulsiveness are important risk factors for repetitive suicidal crises. Clinicians need to assess the suicide risk for individuals in general and more situation-specific risks. If there is a high risk, short term hospitalisation should be considered. Most patients will need long-term specialised treatment rather than a series of shorter treatments that might well worsen the prognosis. Several treatment models are currently available; among them are Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Mentalisation-Based Therapy. The paper discusses how these treatment models address suicidal behaviour in patients with borderline personality disorder and the results that have been achieved in studies of treatment effectiveness.