Borderline Personality Disorder Documentary Now Online

I'm so excited to announce that the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has released the documentary Back from the Edge on YouTube!

Back from the Edge features author and educator Kiera Van Gelder, NEA-BPD's Perry Hoffman, Marsha Linehan, Otto Kernberg, John Gunderson, and the late Wayne Fenton.

Enjoy and share!

Who Can Benefit from Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

Image by orangeacidI'm often asked who can benefit from dialectical behavior therapy or DBT.

Lots of different people can!

DBT has now been adapted to help many different kinds of people or patient populations. Of course DBT has never been sold as an easy or fast cure-all but here's a short list of the kinds of people who might be helped by a dialectical behavior therapy treatment program or by working with a therapist who has been trained in DBT:

• people who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder or who have traits of BPD
• families of individuals with borderline personality disorder
• people who are doing the best they can and need better coping strategies to be more effective
• individuals who have suicidal feelings or those who have made suicide attempts in the past
• people who engage in self-injury or self-harming behaviors
• anyone who feels like the aren't making any progress towards their personal, academic, and professional goals because of rapidly-changing or unpredictable emotions
• individuals living with black-and-white or rigid thinking

If you are interested in learning more about DBT, I'd love to hear from you.

Do People with BPD Lie and Manipulate?

Image by MadstreetzOne of the biggest misconceptions is that people with borderline personality disorder tell a lot of lies and are experts at manipulating others.

Let's look at some alternative theories—

1. People with BPD usually don't lie.

Now this isn't to say that people with BPD never lie—they probably lie just as much as other people. Most people don't lie unless they they feel like they are backed into a proverbial corner and see no other option. A sense of shame or guilt usually follows a lie and individuals with BPD are no different.

In her book Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, psychologist Marsha Linehan writes, "It is difficult to answer contentions by some theorists that borderline individuals frequently lie. With one expection, that has not been my experience. The exception has to do with use of illicit and prescription drugs..."

If you are a family member or friend who has noticed a persistent pattern of lying, there may be reasons to think that a diagnosis of BPD is not a good fit. I once had a gentleman telephone me and—after reading a popular book for families on borderline personality disorder—he was convinced that his ex-wife had BPD. As he explained her behavior which involved a lengthy history of telling self-serving lies, I suspected that she may not meet criteria for BPD but antisocial personality disorder (APD). I read off the criteria of BPD and he reported that she met 4 of the 9 and then I read him the criteria for APD and he reported that she met all of the criteria. While no one can diagnose BPD or any other mental illness over the phone, the exercise gave him a little more information about both disorders.

2. People with BPD don't have the skills to be manipulative.

The behaviors of someone with BPD frequently appear to be designed to manipulate but is that really the person's intention?

Most people with BPD have very poor social and interpersonal skills—especially when they are feeling emotionally dysregulated. By its very definition, manipulation requires someone to be acutely aware of the effect that they behavior has on others. When people with BPD try to communicate their needs it's often done through histrionic tears, shouting, or pleading but not through deceptive or subtle acts.

Individuals who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are not often able to ask for help in a way that they feel like they've been truly understood or are being taken seriously. However, this is a skill that can be practiced and learned over time and there are things that family members and friends can do to bridge the communication gap so that everyone feels like they've been heard.

What other myths and misconceptions about BPD are you holding onto today?

Getting Help for BPD

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny. —Albert Ellis


Reaching out for help when you or someone you love has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder can be hard.

Staying sick can be even harder.

Even with BPD, you have choices. What are you going to do today to help yourself?

You can do this. You can get better.

Borderline Personality Disorder: Creating a Crisis Plan

Image by Robert BejilPlease join Hope for BPD on Monday, October 24th at 8:00 pm EDT (5:00 pm PDT) for a 90-minute discussion on creating an individualized crisis plan.

If you have been diagnosed with BPD, you may feel like you sometimes go from crisis to crisis. In fact, the times when you experience intense emotions can be overwhelming and even scary----leaving you temporarily unable to think clearly and make good decisions. There are, however, many things that you can do in a crisis to keep yourself safe. During this tele-event, we'll create a step-by-step crisis plan that is personalized just for you.

While this event is geared towards individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder or who engage in self-harming behaviors, family members and friends are more than welcome to join the discussion.

The cost for this event is $25 per person.

Please click here to register today.