Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

We know that clients with a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnosis often experience stigma in the mental health system. Not on our watch! We warmly welcome clients living with BPD and are committed to offering nonjudgmental, compassionate support.

BPD is a complex mental health condition often linked to past traumatic experiences. Symptoms can include:

Rapidly shifting moods: Intense emotional changes that may seem unpredictable.
Difficulty managing emotions: Often feeling overwhelmed by strong feelings.
Challenges in tolerating emotional distress: Finding it hard to sit with difficult emotions.
Impulsive behaviors: Acting quickly without always considering the consequences.
Intense anger: Difficulty controlling anger that can feel all-consuming.
Feelings of worthlessness: Persistent feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt.

The Link Between Trauma and BPD

Research shows that BPD is often linked to past trauma, which may involve traumas of commission (things that happened, that should not have happened) - experiences that were overtly distressing or harmful. These can include events like abuse, abandonment, or rejection. Such experiences can leave lasting emotional wounds, leading to intense feelings of anger, shame, and fear of abandonment that are commonly seen in BPD.

However, trauma in BPD isn’t only about what happened. Traumas of omission (things that didn't happen, that should have happened)—the emotional needs that went unmet—can also have a profound impact. When essential emotional needs are not met during childhood, such as receiving adequate love, protection, validation, or emotional support, it can create a sense of emptiness, worthlessness, and an inability to regulate emotions. For example, a child whose parents were emotionally unavailable or struggling with their own mental health may not receive the care and connection they needed. Over time, these unmet needs can shape the way a person feels about themselves and relates to others, contributing to BPD symptoms.

Not everyone who experiences trauma, either of commission or omission, will develop BPD, but these examples illustrate how unmet needs and harmful experiences can have a lasting impact on mental health. In BPD, these early experiences may lead to difficulties regulating emotions, intense fear of abandonment, struggles with self-worth, and challenges in building stable relationships.

How We Can Help

If, during a thorough assessment, your BPD symptoms are determined to trauma-related your therapist will incorporate a trauma-focussed therapy, likely Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) into your treatment if applicable.

If a thorough assessment determines that your anxiety is not likely to have been caused by trauma, your therapist will utilise evidence-based therapies for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) such as Dialectical Behavioural therapy (DBT). If you are interested in trying DBT, an effective therapy for BPD, we have an on-demand DBT course you can access here.

If this information resonates with you or you would like to know more, get in touch.