The Differents offers a unique approach to borderline personality disorder treatment. Learn more about our programs.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most common therapies for depression and anxiety, but it can also be used for the treatment of borderline personality disorder.
There are ten major personality disorders categorized into three distinct clusters: Cluster A, Cluster B, and Cluster C.
Borderline personality disorder is categorized in the Cluster B group, characterized primarily by an inability to regulate emotions. Someone who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder will struggle to control their impulses, have unstable relationships, and experience extreme mood swings, all of which can disrupt daily life.
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There are many common signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder, starting with an unstable sense of self. Those with borderline personality disorder might feel disconnected from themselves, as though they are observing their own life from a distance rather than living it. This can cause low self-esteem.
Those who have borderline personality disorder struggle with emotional dysregulation and mood stabilization. This means when they feel abandoned or rejected, they have extreme reactions to these feelings. The rapid mood shifts can last for hours or days.
Borderline personality disorder causes many interpersonal problems. Those who are diagnosed will typically have very intense relationships at the start, but they get devalued immediately due to a deep fear of abandonment. It is not uncommon for someone with BPD to behave impulsively or recklessly as they try to avoid any abandonment in their relationships, real or perceived.
Interpersonal relationships are further hindered by a lack of empathy and remorse. The problems with emotional regulation mean that someone with borderline personality disorder might find it difficult to feel remorse for their actions or have any empathy. For example:
Tina has borderline personality disorder. She comes into a therapy session one day, furious because her sister is mad at her for having not attended her 21st birthday party. Tina thinks that what she chose to do on the day in question was better for her, a better use of her time. Tina also doesn’t understand the importance of a 21st birthday compared to any other birthday and refuses to apologize.
Borderline personality disorder manifests with impulsivity that extends to gambling, risky driving, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and even self-harm. In the case of self-harm, it’s not uncommon for someone to hurt themselves with the goal of avoiding abandonment in a relationship by gaining attention from the other person.
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One of the recommended treatments to help treat BPD is cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of treatment can help individuals better understand negative thought patterns, particularly those that lead to emotional outbursts, impulsivity, and other symptoms. CBT can extend to problem solving, skill building, stress management, and assertiveness.
It is important to seek treatment as soon as a diagnosis is given because BPD symptoms can get worse over time, causing further disruption to daily life and risking secondary issues like substance abuse.
Reach out to The Differents at (844) 290-1362 to get treatment for BPD today.
The Differents is an addiction and borderline personality disorder treatment center in Reno that helps individuals discover their purpose and passion.
The cognitive behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder is a slightly modified iteration of traditional CBT. Its key interventions include uncovering and understanding core beliefs and then re-working any cognitive distortions.
This treatment’ focuses on:
The view of borderline pathology with cognitive behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder focuses on core beliefs about the self about others, as well as assumptions.
For example, a therapist might help a client identify negative core beliefs that are held about themselves, things like:
Then, they would help the client identify the core beliefs they have about other people like:
Finally, a therapist will help identify any assumptions like:
By understanding these underlying functions of BPD, a client will be able to identify the behavioral strategies they tend to use and the extreme behaviors that result from these core beliefs.
There are some key differences between traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and CBT for borderline personality disorder.
Firstly, the treatment will typically take longer. Regular cognitive behavioral therapy for things like depression or anxiety might be restricted to a 12-week program, but when used for the treatment of BPD, it will take longer.
Secondly, the focus is more heavily centered on underlying core beliefs, beliefs that are often deeply entrenched as a result of the condition, both about selves or others. Therapy focuses on identifying these so that an individual can modify their beliefs.
Thirdly, cognitive behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder will sometimes focus on childhood trauma and other difficult events from childhood. This is, in large part, due to the fact that childhood trauma is a strong cause and contributing factor to the development of borderline personality disorder and, as such, warrants review during any form of treatment for BPD.
Fourthly, while cognitive behavioral therapy is rather interactive between therapist and client, when used to treat borderline personality disorder it is more collaborative. The therapist will, for example, regularly focus on providing the rationale behind intervention strategies they suggest.
Finally, therapists will pay very close attention to the reactions and the effect that a client has during therapy sessions, taking into account how that might influence the therapeutic relationship and in particular what modifications or interventions might be needed as a result.
BPD clients will typically have a much smaller set of strategies they can use to overcome or modify harmful behavior, so cognitive behavioral therapy sessions will focus heavily on expanding the strategies that a client has.
There may also be a much higher degree of non-compliance or lack of readiness. This can be a difficult challenge given the fact that cognitive behavioral therapy relies very heavily on the use of homework and regular practice in between sessions. As a result, therapists have to modify their approach with this information in mind, possibly reducing the amount of homework given and paying attention to which emotions are aroused by the homework assignments.
Let our team help you with personalized goals and active participation in your treatment plan. Call today.
At The Differents, we stand out not just with our dual diagnosis therapy but with our CBT treatment options. You have informed consent for any treatment plan that is designed on your behalf. We make it a point to ensure all of our clients are active participants in the treatment and recovery program they have.
After completing your biopsychosocial assessment, you will get to meet with your primary therapist and work on a treatment plan for all of the problems that present, including cognitive behavioral therapy for diagnosed conditions of BPD.
If you are looking to start cognitive behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder, you can get in touch with our administrative team to learn more. Call The Differents today for BPD therapy near you!
