@Former-Member 

There are several psychotherapies that have accumulated significant evidence for BPD: Mentalization-based treatment (MBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Transference-focused Psychotherapy (TFP), and  Schema-focused therapy (SFT). Whilst there are differences in these approaches, there are also many similarities, and there is growing evidence that treatments based on these similarities ( also known as  ‘common factors’) also help for BPD.

Many factors may contribute to peception of ‘golden’ treatment – more research studies being conducted on a particular treatment, some manuals may appear easier for clinicians to pick up and try, some treatments have more marketing behind them. It’s also important to remember historical context – it was not so long ago that BPD was once thought to be untreatable. One of the earliest treatment studies to provide hope and demonstrate that treatment can help was done by Marsha Linehan and colleagues (DBT) in the early 1990s.

It’s also important to remember that whilst there is evidence that some treatments can help, none of these treatments have a 100% success rate. I raise this in relation to the risk of self-stigma should you try a ‘go-to’ therapy and feel that you don’t succeed at it.  Therapies can not work for all sorts of reasons. One of these can be that it might not be the right sort of treatment for you. We don’t all learn or relate the same way, so there’s no reason to expect that everyone should benefit from just one approach to therapy. Sometimes treatment can be complicated by factors to do with therapist. Sometimes it may just be a really hard to time to commit to an intensive therapy and the challenges it can bring.