May is Borderline Personality Disorder month! Who knew? Well Dr. Barry Lubetkin certainly knew and this week he shares some insight into this very common but difficult diagnosis and treatment.
” Borderline Personality Disorder………The toughest diagnosis
Did you know that by an action of Congress, May is Borderline Personality Disorder month!! BPD is a most challenging mental disorder; It is characterized by many of the following symptoms:
1.Emotional instability and impulsivity.
2.Poor interpersonal relationships and poor self image
3.Intense fears of abandonment.
4.Manipulative behavior to obtain nurturance
5.Drug and alcohol abuse
6.Increased probability of suicidal gestures or attempts.
Individuals with BPD (three times as many are woman then men), are often the toughest challenges to therapists, and often resist potentially effective treatment. While medication and directive Cognitive Behavior Therapy may help reduce paralyzing symptoms, progress is often slow and inconsistent. Research now indicates that the most promising approach is called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It consists of intensive group and individual therapy focusing on helping patients control emotional upheavals by learning how to soothe themselves, practicing developing new interpersonal skills, resisting the impulse to condemn themselves, challenging irrational assumptions about how others view them, and a whole lot more. In New York City, The Psychiatry Department at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital offers this treatment.
The best books out on the subject are…..”Stop Walking on Eggshells“, “I Hate You,Don’t Leave Me” and any excellent text by Dr. Marsha Linehan,the discoverer of DBT. Contact me at the Institute For Behavior Therapy at IBT104@AOL.com for more info.”
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Pbenjay's Blog 
The intent of this article is good, but I am going to play my normal devil’s advocate and disagree with some of it. IMO the toughest diagnosis to treat by far is sociopathy. About borderlines resisting help, it would be more correct to say that borderlines are very ambivalent toward trusting and accepting help – they both reach for it and push people away. That could be understood as resistance, but also positively as vulnerability and need. About progress being slow and inconsistent, progress happens as fast as it can. Saying it’s “slow” doesn’t really mean anything without context or comparison. Given enough time and support, almost anyone can get better.
And lastly, DBT is a good treatment, but I would argue that intensive psychodynamic therapy is just as good if not better.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your comments. As you know, I didn’t write this post, it is written by Dr. Barry Lubetkin who is very highly-regarded and quoted in New York City. I believe he reads the comments so perhaps he will reply also. Again thanks for your thoughts.
Being highly regarded and quoted in New York City doesn’t mean he’s right about everything 🙂 I have experience recovering from BPD from the inside out, something which I doubt that he does.
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Is not easy living wiyha a person with BPD I know for 30 year my children have walk on egg shell. I really thought I was the crazy one I doubted my self many times because he said it. The isolation no friends or familial to speak to. And when I spoke the minister could not believe it after knowing my family for 15 years he spoke to my husband and never ever spoke to me again. Now I am trying to find some help for me and my daughter.