Best treatment for BPD (in your opinion)

Hi guys,

I've been away for a while, but I decided to come back because I really need some support at the moment.

After six horrible months I dumped my horrible therapist. She was completely useless and might even have done more harm than good. I'm actually feeling a lot worse. She has been known to say such things as "some people have it worse", "it's only depression", "you're exaggerated". No kidding! She really did tell me those awful things. So you can see why I fired her.

I was having this sort of experimental psychotherapy, whose name I can't even remember as I had never heard of it before (might have been something along the lines of "SCM"). Tomorrow I'll have to call my pdoc to know my fate, but I'm pretty sure I will have to drop out of the research. Which suits me just fine.

BUT, I don't know what will happen with me. The institute also offers DBT, and that's what I'd like to try as I have friends who have benefited enormously from it. I'll ask my pdoc if this is at all possible.

I'm very anxious and afraid he will tell me my case is not serious enough so they won't let me have DBT. I'm constantly belittling myself, I know. I'm afraid one day they'll come up and tell me "surprise surprise! you don't have BPD at all, you're just a wimp, ***** off!"

However, since I don't know what my pdoc is going to tell me, I'd like to ask you, in your experience, what you think the best treatment for BPD is.

I've had CBT, which actually got things worse, MBCT, which helped with some of the symptoms, such as anxiety and panic, and EMDR for my PTSD, which helped not at all. As I said, I'm considering DBT, but if they dump me I might even consider Schema Therapy.

Has anyone tried any of those? What is your experience?

Being in therapy means a significant cost and expenditure of energy for me, since I need to travel 250 km one way (that would be 5 hours roundtrip), so I want to make the right choice.

Thanks for any help you might offer.

Usually DBT group helps BPD. But not always. There isn't one solution that fits us all. And there are many forms of help: individual therapy, group therapy, mediation, etc.

I have all 3. DBT group, psychodynamic individual T, and Lexapro for depression, Lamictal for moods, and Latuda for impulsive thoughts.

DBT did wonders for me.

I think DBT is a great approach but it's not one that's available to me as i have bipolar as well and all the stimulation made me manic. But it's worth a try, many people swear by it.

Hi Chuva,

I am sorry that you have had a negative experience with a therapist. It is incredibly hard to get back on your feet and I hope you can find someone more fitting.

I am still dealing with multi-traumas and PTSD as a result of terrible therapists and unethical behavior and in fact: a cover-up, where a large number of healthcare professionals protected one another instead of me because they were friends and colleagues. You are not alone my friend.

The DBT skills are quite helpful if you utilize them when needed. However, I don't swear by the DBT modality in and of itself. Some of the skills are extremely helpful in practice but are hard to utilize when you confronted with really difficult circumstances. I think there are many other styles of therapy that may better suit your needs. DBT isn't always effective and in some cases can make things worse, it all depends on the patient. Similarly, for you CBT wasn't effective. Ultimately it comes down to finding a therapist you can trust; the therapy modality can be alternated and frequently changed throughout the course of treatment. My best therapist was by far the least experienced and I would do anything to get her back.

I wish I could help you more but I don't know too much about the different styles of therapy.

Thanks,
HD

Thank you all for sharing your experience, it's very useful for me to know how you guys get along in therapy.

Unfortunately I couldn't speak with my pdoc today because of his having a sore throat and being basically unable to speak, so I'll have to call back tomorrow to get some answers. Needless to say I'm extremely anxious

Good to see you back.

DBT has helped me enormously - but I will say not all DBT is created equal. I happened to have a great therapist during and after the program, and a small group of about 5 of us. You really need to feel very safe in the group, and have competent therapists. Mine happens to be just the right mix of gentle and direct, and will use DBT as well as other things, as I have various traumas and losses to deal with as well. Medication has been a nightmare for the most part, but recently I've been having a lot of success with Ritalin.

If I was to go to Dbt I would have to be in a small group of 5 people, I cant stand crowds, People bother me and give me anxiety, I am sorry about your therapist, I just started a new one yesterday and I really hope she will work for me, I have been getting the run around for to long, I know it is disappointing but keep searing for a new therapist