Borderline & Emotion Dysregulation

You may consider this category if you:

Experience intense emotional reactions that feel difficult to control
Fear abandonment or feel highly sensitive to rejection
Have unstable or rapidly shifting relationships
Engage in impulsive behaviors during emotional distress
Struggle to calm yourself once upset

If your mood changes occur in longer episodes lasting days to weeks (especially with periods of elevated energy or decreased need for sleep), the Mood Disorders category may be more appropriate. If your distress is primarily trauma-related, you may also want to explore the Trauma & Dissociation section.

These measures do not provide a diagnosis on their own but can help clarify emotional and relational patterns.

MSI-BPD (McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder)

What this looks at

The MSI-BPD is a brief screening tool that evaluates core features commonly associated with Borderline Personality Disorder, including emotional instability, impulsivity, identity disturbance, and fear of abandonment.

You may want to take this if you:

Wonder whether BPD traits apply to you
Experience chronic interpersonal instability
Want a brief screening before pursuing more detailed assessment

You may not need this if:

Your primary concern is general emotional dysregulation without relational instability, or you are seeking a more in-depth symptom measure (see BSL-23).

This is a short screening tool, not a comprehensive assessment.

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Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23)

What this looks at

The BSL-23 measures the severity of borderline-related symptoms over the past week, including emotional instability, self-criticism, emptiness, and impulsive tendencies.

You may want to take this if you:

Identify with borderline personality features and want to measure symptom intensity
Are monitoring symptom change over time
Want a more detailed measure than a brief screener

You may not need this if:

You only want a quick screening tool (see MSI-BPD).

This measure focuses on current symptom severity rather than lifetime patterns.

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DERS-16 (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Short Form)

What this looks at

The DERS-16 evaluates general emotion regulation capacity, including difficulty identifying feelings, controlling impulses when distressed, and accessing effective coping strategies.

You may want to take this if you:

Struggle to understand or label your emotions
Feel overwhelmed by emotional intensity
Act impulsively when upset
Want to assess emotional regulation skills more broadly

You may not need this if:

Your primary concern is specifically BPD traits rather than general emotion regulation.

This measure focuses on emotional processes rather than personality features.

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State DERS

What this looks at

The State DERS measures emotion regulation difficulties in the present moment, rather than as a long-term pattern.

You may want to take this if you:

Want to assess how regulated you feel right now
Are tracking emotional shifts in response to a recent event
Are monitoring progress during therapy or skills training

You may not need this if:

You are looking for a measure of long-standing emotional patterns (see DERS-16).

This measure is particularly useful for tracking change over time.

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Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)

What this looks at

The ERC is a caregiver-report measure that evaluates emotional regulation and emotional lability in children.

You may want to complete this if:

You are concerned about a child’s emotional reactivity
A child has frequent emotional outbursts
You want structured feedback on a child’s regulation skills

You may not need this if:

The assessment is for an adult.

This measure is completed by a parent or caregiver.

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