What can treatment of borderline personality help with?

People with borderline personality disorder suffer significantly from intense swings of moods and emotions, problems in relationships, and self-destructive impulses. Treatment of BPD is specifically targeted to help patients manage intense emotions, negotiate social relationships, and curb self-harm. Treatment provides patients with an array of skills to regulate the emotional chaos that creates so many problems in their life.

How do therapists treat borderline personality disorder?

The treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder is Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a structured program of individual psychotherapy sessions and small-group skill-focused instructional meetings held weekly for six months or longer. DBT incorporates many of the techniques of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) but has many other components. DBT is an active program, and homework assignments often encourage patients to practice concrete self-management skills between sessions.

Who is qualified to treat borderline personality disorder?

A DBT therapist is a licensed mental health professional who has additional training and experience in DBT. Several organisations offer certification in DBT to licensed therapists who have completed advanced training that includes both academic and clinical work. Advanced training and certification in DBT are important because BPD makes many demands on clinical expertise: It is the nature of the condition that BPD patients, in their extreme emotional reactivity, have trouble establishing the needed therapeutic relationship and pose many challenges to successful therapy.

What to look for in a therapist for borderline personality disorder?

Because BPD is a complex disorder and patients make many demands on the relationship between therapist and client, it is critically important to find a therapist who is extensively trained and has had extensive experience treating such patients. Many BPD patients have undergone other forms of therapy without significant benefit. DBT is intended to be a comprehensive treatment, with both skills training and psychotherapy components. Seeking a therapist who offers the full DBT treatment protocol is the best assurance of a positive outcome.