Borderline Personality Disorder – BPD

Information about Borderline Personality Disorder – BPD

Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a common personality disorder that is often characterized by intense emotional responses.  Anger, loneliness, desperation may be experienced intensely and individuals may also report feeling empty or struggle with his/her identity, i.e., “Who am I?”  Self-injury (SIB), such as cutting or burning, are behaviors that are not uncommon, and suicide is a very real concern for those with Borderline Personality (BPD) symptoms.

Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

1. Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment
2. Pattern of intense and unstable relationships
3. Unstable sense of self
4. Impulsivity in two or more domains, e.g., binge eating, sexual activity, spending, substance abuse, etc.
5. Self-injurious behavior, threats of suicide, and/or suicide attempts
6. Emotional instability
7. Chronic feelings of emptiness
8. Intense feelings of anger or  anger management difficulties
9. Dissociative symptoms or paranoid ideation

Dialectical Behavior Therapy – DBT for BPD

While the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are serious, there is justification for hope.  Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an empirically supported treatment for this disorder.  DBT treatment consists of clients attending DBT Skills Groups and individual therapy with a DBT therapist, while DBT therapists attend regular team consultations.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy – DBT PowerPoint Presentation

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Download of the presentation

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