Personality Disorders Treatment
How Casa Recovery treats borderline personality disorder
Being diagnosed with a personality disorder such as borderline personality disorder can have a significant effect on the daily life of the individual. A personality disorder can drastically alter the way someone feels, thinks, and behaves in their personal and interpersonal relationships.
With the right professional support, these patterns can be understood and managed — helping you rebuild stability, healthier relationships, and a stronger sense of self.
Understanding the Diagnosis
What is a personality disorder?
We all know that everyone has different ways of thinking, responding to various situations, and more. Each person has a unique blend of feelings, behaviors, and emotions. The exact mix and expression of this blend are what makes each person special — these traits make up everyone’s personality.
While these traits are common to most people, having them imbalanced or otherwise divergent from the norm can cause issues for the individual as well as the people they interact with. This is what a personality disorder is. A personality disorder involves emotional dysregulation and affects the way that an individual deals with stress and emotional challenges, impacting relationships.
Borderline Personality Disorder
What is borderline personality disorder?
Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that is occasionally known as an emotionally unstable personality disorder. Individuals with borderline personality disorder are known to have unstable moods and the potential to act recklessly. They may have a difficult time with daily life and associated tasks, as well as general obligations and life events. They may also find it challenging to keep a job or maintain a healthy romantic relationship, and may use drugs, alcohol, food, or other things to cope with their difficult feelings.
For those with borderline personality disorder, finding professional treatment is incredibly important, particularly due to the increased risk of suicide by those with the disorder. Individuals are also at an elevated risk for developing anxiety or panic disorders, depression, substance use disorder, and self-harming disorders. There are many different potential treatments that can help and have demonstrated significant rates of success.
Possible Causes
What are the causes of borderline personality disorder?
Borderline personality disorder has been researched for many years, and at this time the mental health community still isn’t exactly sure what causes BPD. There has been some research that shows there may be a genetic or familial link, able to be passed down from one generation to another.
Those who have suffered abuse, neglect, or other attachment traumas may also have a higher chance of developing borderline personality disorder, as well as those who live with parents or other family members that have problems with substance abuse or criminal activity.
Recognizing the Signs
What are the symptoms of borderline personality disorder?
In most cases, the symptoms of borderline personality disorder will begin to emerge in the teen years. The symptoms will vary considerably from one person to another, but in most cases someone diagnosed with borderline personality disorder will display at least five of the following symptoms at one time or another:
- Patterns of significant mood changes over the course of hours or days
- Intense anger, and challenges controlling that anger
- Relationships with family and friends that ebb and flow — from extremely close, to anger or hatred, and back again
- Extreme reactions to abandonment, including fear and behaving to avoid it
- A sense of self that can fluctuate rapidly, including changes in life goals, values, or basic behaviors
- Occasionally feeling isolated or disconnected from themselves, even dissociating from their body
- Having intense, paranoid thoughts
- Ongoing depression
- Self-destructive behaviors, like substance use, reckless sex, irresponsible spending, or unhealthy eating habits
- Self-harm or even suicide attempts
If you or a loved one have experienced even one of these symptoms, it’s important to speak with a mental health professional. While the diagnosis may not be a borderline personality disorder, it’s still important to be evaluated by a licensed clinician so that potential treatment options can be discussed.
You don’t have to navigate this alone
Our compassionate team is here to help you understand your diagnosis and build a treatment plan that fits your life. Reach out today to take the first step.
Our Approach
What is the treatment for borderline personality disorder?
The main treatment method for borderline personality disorder is psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy. In some severe cases, a doctor or healthcare professional may recommend a short hospitalization or inpatient treatment if there is an immediate risk to safety.
Treatment for borderline personality disorder is primarily designed to teach skills useful in coping with the symptoms of the condition. Medication can also be used to help correct any neurochemical imbalances that may be contributing factors.
Psychotherapy Options
The objectives of talk therapy
Talk therapy is a primary approach to treating borderline personality disorder, and is frequently included in borderline personality disorder treatment plans. The objectives of psychotherapy include:
- Focusing on distress tolerance skills
- Learning to manage difficult or uncomfortable emotions
- Reducing impulsiveness by observing feelings rather than acting
- Improving relationships with emotional awareness
- Learning more about borderline personality disorder
Therapies We Use
Types of psychotherapy
There are several types of therapy that can be used to help, each targeting the patterns that make daily life more difficult:
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Uses a skills-based approach to learning emotional management and regulation, helping you respond to distress in healthier ways.
Schema-Focused Therapy
Helps identify unmet needs that have resulted in negative patterns, and helps meet those needs in healthier ways.
Mentalization-Based Therapy
A type of talk therapy that helps you identify thoughts and feelings at a particular moment in time, so you can experience an alternative viewpoint.
Reach out and contact our care team today
Casa Recovery offers effective, compassionate treatment for borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders. We are here for you and ready to help — get the support you deserve from a team that cares.