Coping with BPD: DBT and CBT Skills to Soothe the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

In this much-needed book, two renowned borderline personality disorder (BPD) experts offer simple, easy-to-use skills drawn from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to help you address the most common issues of BPD, such as intense feelings of anger, depression, and anxiety.

For many, having BPD is like living in emotional overdrive. And whether you are feeling depressed, anxious, worried, or angry, you might struggle just to get through each day. So, how can you start balancing your moods and managing your symptoms? This helpful guide addresses over fifty of the most common struggles people with BPD face every day, and offers accessible, evidence-based solutions to help you feel better and get back to living your life.

You'll discover powerful DBT and mindfulness skills to help you set personal limits, manage intense emotions and moods, and address issues like substance abuse and doing harm to yourself and others. In addition, you'll learn how to deal with the inevitable negative self-talk, feelings of paranoia, and self-invalidation.

If you're ready to take charge of your BPD--instead of letting it take control of you--this book will be your go-to guide. Perfect for everyday use, the practices within will help you manage your symptoms as they arise.

Blaise Aguirre, MD, is assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and an expert in child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and medication evaluation and management. He is founding medical director of McLean 3East--a unique residential DBT program for young women exhibiting self-endangering behaviors and borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits. Dr. Aguirre has been a staff psychiatrist at McLean since 2000, and is internationally recognized for his extensive work in the treatment of mood and personality disorders in adolescents. He lectures regularly in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on DBT and BPD. Dr. Aguirre is author of Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents and Depression (Biographies of Disease), and coauthor of Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder and Helping Your Troubled Teen.

Gillian Galen, PsyD, is instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is program director and assistant director of training for the 3East Intensive Residential Program at the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital--a unique residential dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program for young women exhibiting self-endangering behaviors and borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits. She specializes in adolescent psychotherapy, including DBT. She has a particular interest in using mindfulness and yoga in the treatment of BPD and other psychiatric illnesses. Galen has been a registered yoga instructor since 2008. She is coauthor of Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder.

Foreword author Alec Miller, PsyD, is cofounder of Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants of Westchester, LLP, in White Plains, NY. He is professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences, chief of child and adolescent psychology, director of the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program, and director of clinical services at PS 8 School-Based Mental Health Program. Miller has become internationally known in the areas of adolescent depression and suicidology, non-suicidal self-injury, borderline personality disorder (BPD), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). He has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and is coauthor of Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents and Childhood Maltreatment.