Loved Ones & Borderline Personality Disorder:
A 12-week group for those loving and/or living with persons with BPD
The Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Centre of Vancouver is pleased to announce a special 12-week program designed for partners, family, and friends of those with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), or with related problems (e.g., self-injury). BPD is a serious mental health problem believed to affect approximately 1.6 percent of the population. Persons with BPD suffer intense emotional turmoil, often have difficulties with relationships, and are at risk for suicidal and self-harming behaviour.
Although there is considerable hope for persons with BPD, and effective treatments exist, loved ones often struggle in finding the best way to support their affected family member(s) or friend(s) with BPD. This special 12-week course is designed to provide partners, family, and friends with tools for better understanding and assisting loved ones. This group will also teach participants some of the practical skills commonly covered in the DBT groups to effectively manage emotions, communicate to others, and tolerate overwhelming distress.
More specifically, this course will cover the following topics:
- What is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?
- Why do people have BPD?
- Some harmful myths and misconceptions about BPD
- Hope for BPD: Treatments that work
- Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- DBT skills in action:
- How to use validation to reduce conflict and calm emotional storms
- How to understand behaviour and set reasonable limits
- How to use skills to understand and manage intense emotions
- How to tolerate and manage crises and accept yourself, your emotions, and your loved one
- How to use interpersonal effectiveness skills to improve communication with your loved one
This special group will meet weekly for 1.5 hours per week on Fridays, from 12pm to 1:30pm, beginning Friday, February 24, 2012. Participants will be provided with all needed materials, including a binder with handouts covering the DBT skills, copies of the Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide by Dr. Alex Chapman, and other materials. All meetings take place at the DBT Centre of Vancouver, conveniently located downtown at Burrard and Davie, and will be led by Dr. Alexander Chapman or Dr. John Wagner, both of whom are experts in the treatment of BPD, having completed 2-year post-doctoral fellowships with Dr. Marsha Linehan (the developer of DBT).
The total cost for the course is $995. Space is limited, so if you are interested in registering for the group, please complete the registration form and fax, email or mail with payment to:
DBT Centre of Vancouver
Attn: FF 12-week
Suite 1040, 1200 Burrard St
Vancouver BC V6Z 2C7
Ph: 604.569.1156
Fax: 604.569.1230
For more information about us, visit the DBT Centre of Vancouver.