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More on Validation and DBT
Validation and DBT: Validation in DBT involves five different levels. This first two are similar to other psychotherapies and involve unbiased listening and observing, and eliciting and accurately reflecting the patient’s thoughts, feelings, and assumptions. The third step of validation is to articulate for the patient unverbalized emotions, thoughts, or behavior patterns. The idea is to accurately “”read their minds”” and help them learn to accurately label internal states. The fourth step is for the therapist to validate the person’s present behavior based on their past learning history. In other words, from the DBT perspective, any human given the same biological makeup and learning history would end up responding in…
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A Borderline describes cutting
Here’s an exerpt from a borderline describing the need to cut: I’m going to make a feeble attempt to explain this need to self injure. Have you ever had a bad itch, like poison ivy, that you just have to keep itching. I have. I recently had one ankle itch so bad that I took the heel of my shoe and itched it as we drove along in the car. I itched it so hard I scraped all the skin off. The wound was so bad it was scabed over for weeks. But it didn’t hurt when I did it; it did help relieve the itch. Well, borderline emotional pain…
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Courtney Love a Borderline?
From an article about Courtney Love’s troubles: “”People like her are extraordinarily emotionally immature,”” according to Sheenah Hankin, a psychotherapist who says Love’s behavior resembles that of a typical “”borderline personality disorder.”” “”These people throw tantrums and don’t take care of themselves at all,”” she adds. “”When they’re in a crisis, they don’t seek help, they just freak out.”” There is no “”poster child”” for BPD. No celebrity has come out and said: “”I have borderline personality disorder.”” Sure, some famous people have been identified with bi-polar disorder (some examples from a Google search: Ben Stiller, Dick Cavett, Jonathan Winters, Carrie Fisher, Sting) …but not BPD. Why?http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040718/news_1a18clove.html No related posts.
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Follow up on Substance Abuse
From a very good article describing co-existing issues with BPD: Millon (1996, p. 200) notes that individuals with BPD are characterized by drug-seeking behavior. Individuals with BPD will be particularly vulnerable to the escape offered by drugs and alcohol. Real world interaction triggers multiple interpersonal crises and overwhelming negative affect. Drugs can, ostensibly, offer relief from BPD turmoil and emptiness. And for me, this one struck home: Individuals with BPD often use alcohol and other drugs in a chaotic and unpredictable pattern; they may engage in a polydrug pattern involving alcohol and other sedative-hypnotics for self-medication. Clients with BPD often abuse benzodiazepines that have been prescribed for anxiety — which…
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Substance Abuse
Over half (54%) of borderline’s have a problem with substance abuse. The main theory is that they use substances to try and quell the painful emotions that they feel. My BP reports that she uses substances (prescription meds) to try and “shut up” the feelings for a few hours. No related posts.
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Blaming Never Helps
From “”Peace is Every Step”” by Thich Nhat Hanh: When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you donít blame the lettuce. You look into the reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If…