Dialectic Behaviour Therapy and the effects of Personality Disorders?

Under_Graduate

From what I understand, this type of therapy is beginning to be introduced to mental health services around the country.

What I have read, states that it assists with the treatment of personality disorders, where the individual may have difficulty dealing with intense emotions and resultingly engage in self harm and/or have suicidal ideation.

I'm just curious as to the actual approach they adopt with this type of therapy that sets it apart from say, regular clinical psychology or CBT, by example?

The material I have read, seems to allude to the personal sense of distress giving rise to impulses to commit self harm etc, being brought about by the personality disorder itself.

I'm not even particularly clear on personality disorders and how they differ from mental health disorders.

I mean, without branching off too much, I do know that PD's are long standing/lifetime conditions, and in that sense differ from mental health disorders such as psychotic episodes, which tend to be more short term.
But, of course taking into account that it would vary from one PD to the next, generally speaking, what kind of symptoms and behaviours do Personality Disorders give rise to?

Is it strictly self harm impulses?
Harm to others?
Can personality disorders result in "chronic" or debilitating symptoms, they may require hospitalization and/or sedation?

Do things like Depression and Anxiety go hand in hand with PD's?
I would have to assume that having a PD could be very distressing to the sufferer, and also inhibit their ability to have relationships with others, which could lead to things like social isolation, exaggerating the depression, compounding the effect of the distress etc.

Again, from what I understand, DBT is the most effective form of therapy - actually, it was specifically designed for the purpose - for treating PD's.
What approach does it take in doing this, and what are the principles this approach is based on, making it effective in dealing with PD's?

JuliusCaesar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavior_therapy

Linehan recently said she had BPD herself.

It's supposed to be adopted by the entire MDT, so that the entire team treats the person in the same way, as the BPD person will often manipulate individuals by making them feel superior to other team members ("You're great, you really listen, whereas Dr X just makes me feel dismissed") and thus fractures the treatment approach.

When I see entire teams trained in it, I'll believe it.

There's lots of info out there on the different personality disorders as defined by the DSM.

MindWorker

In my experience, DBT is the best for BPD. Please note, there is no "one size fits all"; however, DBT is usually a good therapeutic intervention, specifically, for treating patients with BPD.

Under_Graduate

Where is it offered generally?

I know some of the mental health institutions are in the process of introducing it, but it doesn't as of yet seem to be widely available.

MindWorker

If you do a search for HSE Cork Dialetical behaviour thereapy, you will find some contact info at the HSE. Seems really only be taking off in Cork right now. In the past, I have been referring people for DBT to London (usually people who I know and as such, not people I would treat myself for ethical reasons), as well as hypno-CBT.

For some reason, mental health has not had a big push here... unfortunately.

Labarbapostiza

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

It's supposed to be adopted by the entire MDT, so that the entire team treats the person in the same way, as the BPD person will often manipulate individuals by making them feel superior to other team members ("You're great, you really listen, whereas Dr X just makes me feel dismissed") and thus fractures the treatment approach.

Well, there can be a lot of truth in the fact that individuals as part of team can vary greatly in their abilities.

Manipulations are a feature of BPD. They can appear well thought out and Machiavellian, but they are more dysfunctional reactions to immediate stress. If you take for example Jodi Arias. Her trial was filmed and is on Youtube. In cross examination Arias keeps attempting manipulations, but they are infuriating and counter productive. If Arias had been a Dark Triad manipulator, the manipulations would have been subtle, instead they're chaotic.


The psychiatrist giving expert testimony is also worth watching.


If you don't know who Jodi Arias is, don't blame me you have to spend a few minutes googling her.