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Treatment Approaches for Borderline Personality Disorder

In recent years, one of the major changes in psychological treatment has been the shift of therapists from an allegiance to one single approach to the use of multiple approaches, depending on the person and the problem. Therefore, there can be several treatment approaches for Borderline Personality Disorder.

The psychodynamic approach to treatment seeks to help the client to uncover unconscious conflicts that give rise to their negative behaviors. Psychodynamic therapists use the techniques of free association and dream analysis to help them (and the client) to achieve insight into the client’s unconscious influences.

The humanistic approach to treatment seeks to help the client fulfill his/her potential for growth through self-understanding. Humanistic therapists use the techniques of reflective listening, as in client-centered therapy, to facilitate greater self-understanding and personal growth for the client.

The basis of the behavioral approach to treatment is that the client’s maladaptive behavior can be unlearned through conditioning principles. Behavioral therapists use specific techniques such as social-skills training and systematic desensitization to teach the client more adaptive behavior through the principles of operant and classical conditioning.

The cognitive-behavioral approach to treatment seeks to help the client eliminate distorted thoughts that cause maladaptive behaviors. The cognitive-behavioral therapist incorporates specific learning principles as well as addresses the client’s faulty cognitions (thoughts) that lead to his/her maladaptive behaviors and emotions.

Practitioners from different theoretical approaches use the group approach to treatment (group therapy) for social support for their clients. Therapists also employ the technique of interpersonal learning found in the group environment to address their client’s issues.

The systems approach to treatment seeks to help the client improve family interactions as issues arise in their larger social context. This approach considers that the client’s individual problems arise in a larger family context and that he/she must address how the family interacts to achieve a more lasting result.

The basis of the biological approach to treatment is that some psychological disorders result from abnormalities in a person’s neurological and bodily processes, and this approach seeks to directly treat these abnormalities. Biological therapists attempt to change these processes, most commonly through the use of psychotropic medications such as anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, and antipsychotics.

Overall, no one approach to treatment has been found to be clearly superior to the others. Part of this may be due to the fact that there are some common factors that contribute to the effectiveness of all the approaches, despite the specific techniques used. These common factors include a strong relationship between the therapist and client, and the powerful emotional reaction of confession (i.e., catharsis) of the client.

About the Author

David Oliver is the founder of BorderlineCentral.com a one stop source of information on how to cope and deal with borderline personality disorder.

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