If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), it’s likely that you use alcohol or other drugs in an attempt to manage your emotional symptoms. The good news is that you can get help, but the bad news is that it’s often hard to find therapists who specialize in BPD, and most of the treatment approaches may be unhelpful or even harmful when used with BPD patients who also have substance abuse problems. Luckily, there are some specific ways to make your therapy more effective if you have BPD and alcoholism or another addiction problem.

Alcoholics Anonymous

So, Borderlines like to drink. It’s a chicken or egg question as to whether they have BPD because they drink or whether their drinking is a symptom of BPD (for example, using drugs or alcohol can make you numb). Either way, if you think that your borderline loved one is an alcoholic – and some borderlines fit neatly into that category – there are programs like Alcoholics Anonymous that might help. There are also specific approaches from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for dealing with addictive behaviours. DBT uses skills training in four major areas of life: mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance. You can read more about those techniques here.

How is BPD Treated?

Borderline personality disorder is generally treated through a combination of therapy (which can be in-person or via a form of talk therapy like DBT) and medications, if needed. While researchers are still trying to figure out what causes BPD, there’s no evidence to suggest that BPD is caused by anything you did or didn’t do. The best thing you can do for yourself with BPD is try to learn how to cope with your emotions in ways that don’t involve alcohol. While it might seem like drinking helps relieve symptoms, self-medicating just makes things worse in the long run.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment

For those struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) who also have a substance abuse problem, intensive outpatient treatment is often recommended. This type of care offers group therapy as well as individual sessions, usually once or twice per week. By requiring people to attend treatment on a regular basis, they are able to get help managing their symptoms in between treatments. In addition to support groups for BPD and alcoholism, many of these programs also offer DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy). This is a very structured form of psychotherapy that focuses on mindfulness skills training. Some practitioners report success rates as high as 85% with BPD/alcoholism patients when they incorporate DBT into their programming!

Types of Therapies Used for BPD

The following therapies are often used to treat BPD: Dialectical behavioural therapy: Based on cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy was developed specifically for treating BPD. This type of treatment helps patients identify intense emotions and manage them in a healthy way. Dialectical behavioural therapy also teaches skills to help patients change their negative behaviours.