The following educational topics will be carefully addressed:

1. a. to establish a coherent model of the borderline syndrome as a complex, heterogeneous reaction resulting from the interaction of psychobiological vulnerabilities, psychosocial stressors and abnormal mental processes;

2. b. to teach how new data from recent investigations of the clinical course of the borderline crisis are changing our view of both the scopes and the limitations of mental health policies for borderline patients;

3. c. to review the several issues associated with adequate acute service provision for borderline patients in order to define a set of well structured recommendations for good quality, comprehensive emergency services organisation and acute treatment delivery;

4. d. to teach a well structured, simple, cost-effective, easy to implement psychodynamic crisis intervention program with specific accent on: case management, risk management, facilitating an alliance, inactivating pathological personality traits triggered from acute traumatic experiences, empathic exploration of distressing feelings, conveying insight on repetitive patterns of ego syntonic masochistic behaviour, active support for problem solving;

5. e. to teach the main aspects of an innovative brief psychodynamic psychotherapy program (mourning focused psychodynamic psychotherapy) model and its relevance to increased cost-effectiveness of psychiatric treatment among acute patients with borderline emotional crisis triggered from traumatic abandonment and other stressful life events.

The course is intended for people with an experience in the field of personality disorders and an interest in combining psychobiological science and psychotherapeutic wisdom to improve acute treatment and psychiatric services.