Treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) may involve individual or group psychotherapy.
Community mental health team
Your GP can refer you to a community mental health team (CMHT) for treatment.
Community mental health services help people with complex mental health difficulties.
If you're diagnosed with BPD, a team of specialists will work together to give you the best treatment and care.
A CMHT can include:
- social workers
- community mental health nurses who specialise in mental health difficulties
- pharmacists
- counsellors and psychotherapists
- psychologists and psychiatrists - the psychiatrist is usually the senior doctor in the team
- occupational therapists
Your care plan
Your CMHT will create a care plan with you. This will make sure that you get the right treatment for your needs.
The CMHT will:
- Assess your needs and goals.
- Make a care plan with you that can meet your goals.
- Tell you who your key worker is - they will be your main point of contact.
- Do regular reviews of your care plan.
Psychotherapy
Treatment for BPD usually involves psychological therapy, also known as psychotherapy.
There are different types of psychotherapy. They all involve taking time to help you get a better understanding of how you think and feel.
Your psychotherapist can suggest ways to resolve your difficulties. They can help you change your attitudes and behaviour.
Your psychotherapist can be a psychiatrist, psychologist or other trained mental health professional. Do not be afraid to ask about their experience.
The main types of psychotherapy for treating BPD are:
- dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
- mentalisation-based therapy (MBT)
There are also less common types of therapy, such as arts-based therapies.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a type of therapy used to treat people who have been diagnosed with BPD. It is given by a DBT team.
DBT usually involves weekly individual and group sessions with a therapist to learn new skills.
Mentalisation-based therapy (MBT)
Mentalisation-based therapy (MBT) is a type of long-term psychotherapy used to treat BPD.
It can help you if you find it hard to understand your own and other people's mental states and motivation.
The goal of MBT is to improve your ability to recognise your own and others' mental states. You learn to step back from your thoughts about yourself and others and examine them to see if they're valid.
Treatment includes:
- one-to-one sessions with a therapist
- group sessions with other people
- out-of-hours phone support
MBT can be offered at a hospital, in the community, or online.
Arts therapies
In some cases, your CMHT may recommend arts therapies.
Arts or creative therapies are not the first treatments you can get for BPD. But they have shown some benefits for people with BPD.
These therapies can be given on a one-to-one basis or as part of a group.
Therapies include:
- art therapy
- dance movement therapy
- drama therapy
- music therapy
Arts therapies aim to help people who are finding it hard to express their thoughts and feelings. The therapy focuses on creating something as a way of expressing your feelings.
Trained therapists run the course. You will be encouraged to think about how your creative work may relate to your thoughts and experiences.
Art therapy usually involves weekly sessions, which last up to 2 hours.
This type of treatment should only be given with guidance from your care team.
Treating a crisis
You will get phone numbers to use if you think you may be having a crisis. This is when your symptoms are severe and you have an increased risk of self-harm.
One of these numbers is likely to be your community mental health nurse or DBT therapist.
Other numbers may include an out-of-hours social worker and crisis resolution team.
You may be prescribed medicine, such as a tranquilisers, to calm your mood. This happens in a small number of cases. This medicine is usually prescribed for 7 days.
Medicine
There is no medicine currently licensed to treat BPD.
But if you have another mental health difficulty, your doctors may prescribe medicine that helps with symptoms of BPD.
Mood stabilisers or antipsychotics are sometimes prescribed to:
- help mood swings
- ease psychotic symptoms
- reduce impulsive behaviour
Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE