Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
What are Some Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?
- Frantic efforts to avoid real or perceived abandonment
- Intense and unstable relationships
- Unstable self-image or sense of self
- Impulsivity
- Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-harm behavior
- Emotional instability
- Chronic feelings of emptiness
- Frequent displays of anger
- Stress-related paranoid thinking or severe dissociative symptoms
How Does DBT Help?
DBT was originally developed to treat people who struggle with borderline personality disorder and is very effective in reducing and managing symptoms. At the start of therapy, clients meet with their therapist and develop an individualized treatment plan. During DBT Skills group sessions, clients learn mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. During DBT individual sessions, clients learn how to apply the skills to their daily lives. The length of treatment depends on the unique treatment needs of each individual client. However, treatment typically lasts two years. Since many people with borderline personality disorder also have significant trauma histories, many clients choose to participate in DBT PE trauma therapy.