We offer Borderline Personality Disorder testing, but you need to understand the diagnosis and what psychological testing can accomplish before you decide whether to use our services. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complex mental health condition that typically requires a thorough evaluation, testing, and other steps. There is no single test that can definitively diagnose BPD. Instead, we rely on a combination of methods and tests for borderline personality disorder and criteria to assess whether you meet the diagnostic criteria through BPD testing.
The goal of BDP testing is not merely to get a diagnosis. In fact, the diagnosis itself is not the important part. What we hope to accomplish through borderline personality disorder testing is to give you a comprehensive report that gives you the information you need to overcome your symptoms as much as possible.
Borderline Personality Overview
Before we cover borderline personality testing, it’s worth reviewing what BPD is. Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental health disorder characterized by a pervasive instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions. People with BPD often experience intense and fluctuating emotions, have difficulty regulating their feelings, and struggle with a sense of self-identity. The disorder typically becomes evident in late adolescence or early adulthood and can be challenging if not treated.
Common Features
People with borderline personality disorder often have some of the following symptoms. However, each person with PBD is unique and may have them in different amounts or at all.
- Intense and unstable relationships: Individuals with BPD often have tumultuous and stormy relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners. They may idealize someone one moment and devalue them the next.
- Emotional instability: Rapid and intense mood swings can occur, often triggered by seemingly minor events. Individuals with BPD may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety.
- Impulsive behavior: Impulsivity in spending, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating is common.
- Distorted self-image: People with BPD may have a poorly defined sense of self and frequently don’t know who they are. This can lead to frequent changes in goals, values, and career choices.
- Self-harm and suicidal behavior: Individuals with BPD are at a higher risk of self-harming behaviors and suicidal ideation or attempts.
- Fear of abandonment: A pervasive fear of being abandoned, even when there is no real threat, can lead to clinginess or desperation to avoid abandonment.
- Chronic feelings of emptiness: A persistent sense of emptiness and boredom is common among individuals with BPD.
- Dissociation: Some individuals with BPD may experience episodes of dissociation, where they feel detached from their thoughts, feelings, or surroundings.
Causes and Treatment
The exact causes of BPD are not fully understood but likely involve a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. It is treatable, primarily through psychotherapy, particularly Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), designed to help individuals develop healthier coping strategies and emotional regulation skills. Medications may also be used to manage specific symptoms, such as depression or impulsivity, but they are typically not the primary treatment for BPD.
How BPD Testing Fits
The earlier BPD is detected and diagnosed, the better the chances for treatment to work. Borderline personality disorder testing can help not only provide that early diagnosis and help you understand the specifics of your unique symptom profile. This can help target your treatment. BPD testing can also uncover other possible diagnoses and related symptoms that can be addressed in treatment.
Borderline Personality Disorder Testing Steps
BPD testing comprehensively examines symptoms, behaviors, emotional reactions, and thoughts. It usually involves a complex battery of tests combined with interviews and observations.
Here are the steps typically involved in the assessment process for Borderline Personality Disorder testing: 
Borderline Personality Disorder Testing Interview
We will initially conduct a comprehensive clinical interview about your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and personal history. This interview helps gather information about your symptoms and experiences. A thorough history needs to be gathered, and it may require you to check in with your caregivers or others who have known you for some time.
We will assess how you function in various aspects of your life, such as work, relationships, and daily activities, to understand the impact of possible BPD on your overall well-being.
Medical Tests for Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms
Sometimes, physical health conditions or substance use disorders can mimic the symptoms of BPD. Therefore, as part of our Borderline Personality Disorder testing process, we may suggest that a medical evaluation is conducted to rule out any underlying medical issues contributing to your symptoms.
Psychological BPD Testing
Although no specific Autism Spectrum Disorder exists for BPD, psychological assessments and standardized questionnaires may be administered to gather more information about your emotional and psychological functioning. These tests can help in the diagnostic process and in understanding the severity of symptoms. Examples include the PAI, MMPI Test, and possibly projective tests.
Observations and Questionnaires
BPD testing also involves you filling out some questionnaires related to common BDP symptoms and doing some self-observation. We may ask you to give us feedback about how you felt and acted in certain situations, for example. We may ask if we can talk to significant people in your life who may also have information about your behavior patterns and mood.
Additional Tests for Borderline Personality Disorder
As we administer tests for borderline personality disorder, we may find that other diagnoses or symptoms may be present, so we may add empirical measures, questionnaires, or additional interview questions designed to provide you with a thorough assessment of your mental health functioning. Many diagnoses may coexist with BPD, and knowing this can be helpful as you pursue treatment and life changes.
Interpreting BPD Testing
After we have done all the Borderline Personality Disorder testing steps above, we need to assess whether you meet the diagnostic criteria for BPD, as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 list). Intense mood swings, unstable relationships, impulsivity, self-destructive behaviors, and an unstable sense of self characterize Borderline Personality Disorder. Some people only have some of those symptoms. We look at all the data in your testing to determine whether you have the diagnosis and your unique set of symptoms.
Borderline Personality Disorder Testing and Differential Diagnosis 
Our interpretation will consider other mental health conditions that may have similar symptoms to Borderline Personality Disorder Testing, such as bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, or other personality disorders, and differentiate BPD from them. It’s important to note that BPD can be challenging to diagnose accurately, and the assessment process may take time. If you are experiencing symptoms of BPD, you may also have co-occurring mental health conditions that must be addressed.
Tests for Borderline Personality Disorder
BPD is diagnosed based on specific criteria, including symptoms such as intense and unstable relationships, impulsivity, identity disturbance, affective instability, and chronic feelings of emptiness.There are specific tests for borderline personality disorder that we can use.
Self-Report Borderline Personality Disorder Testing
Several self-report questionnaires and inventories are used to assess for BPD symptoms. These include:
- Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ): A self-report questionnaire specifically designed to assess borderline personality traits.
- McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD): A self-report screening tool designed to identify individuals who may have BPD.
- Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): Although not specific to BPD, the PAI assesses a wide range of personality and psychopathology constructs, including borderline features.
Structured Clinical Interviews:
Structured clinical interviews, such as the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines-Revised (DIB-R), may be used as tests for borderline personality disorder. These interviews follow a standardized format and ask specific questions about BPD symptoms.
Our Borderline Personality Disorder Testing
If you are experiencing symptoms suggestive of BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder testing can be very helpful. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can greatly improve your quality of life and well-being. The test report will explain whether you do or don’t have BPD and provide significant detail about your unique symptom profile and how you can overcome barriers and challenges and tap into your strengths. It will also cover other symptoms that may or may not be related to BPD.
BPD Testing Example
Our borderline personality disorder testing often includes a detailed interview, questionnaires, empirical testing, and consideration of your history and symptoms. Here is an example of the types of questions and criteria that we use in tests for borderline personality disorder:
- Self-Report Examples: For each statement, please indicate how much you agree or disagree based on your experiences over the past month
- I feel very insecure about my relationships.
- I have a hard time controlling my anger.
- I often feel empty inside.
- My emotions change very quickly.
- I sometimes engage in self-harm or have suicidal thoughts.
- I worry about being abandoned by those close to me.
- I have impulsive behaviors that can be self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse).
- I often feel misunderstood or mistreated.
- Empirical Testing: You’d fill out many yes or no questions, then provide stories that describe what you see in a picture, then maybe draw a picture. Empirical tests for borderline personality disorder differ depending on your symptoms and questions.
- History and Symptoms: We’d look for signs of
- Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
- A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
- Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
- Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).
- Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
- Chronic feelings of emptiness.
- Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
- Clinical Interview: We might also ask questions such as:
- Can you describe your typical mood changes throughout the day or week?
- How do you usually react when someone close to you is pulling away?
- Do you often feel you don’t know who you are or what you want?
- Have you ever engaged in behaviors you would consider reckless or dangerous?
Our Borderline Personality Disorder Testing Services
Our services are designed to provide diagnostic evaluations. We offer Borderline Personality Disorder testing as part of a comprehensive assessment. Please contact us at any time to discuss whether BPD Testing or another service may be helpful for you.
