Treatments
There is a range of support available to help with emotional and practical needs.
This support may only be needed occasionally in times of distress but it can also become a regular crutch for daily life.
It may be that there are friends or family to contact who can just listen, or support networks and groups for other people with the same condition, otherwise your GP or mental health team may be useful.
Sometimes treatments such as therapy and medication are prescribed and hospital admission but only if there is a great risk of harm to yourself or others.
Much help can also be gained through centres and clinics rather than hospitals.
Accessing therapies and other help can take time if there are waiting lists, however there is support available whilst waiting and researching to prepare for therapy can also be helpful in the meantime.
Psychological therapies for personality disorders: recognise that the past affects our present, looks at thought before action, managing change and ending relationships/loss, relies on the development of a relationship between therapist and client, and the therapist’s awareness and understanding of others and themselves.
Self Help
Self-help can be the quickest way to de-stress.
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Sometimes just going for a walk, doing yoga or having a bubble bath is just enough to calm your mood.
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Calling a friend, relative or your GP to listen to how you’re feeling can also help.
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To find your local GP visit -
http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/GP/Plymouth/Results/4/-4.135/50.371/4/17021?distance=25#
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To find out who your GP is visit -
http://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/
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GPs can also refer you on for specialist help, such as your local mental health team, for assessment: gaining information from you about your past experiences and problems to create a care plan suited to you.
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A care plan is a plan made by the service user and your mental health team workers.
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It will identify the roles of the professionals involved
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Short-term treatment aims and steps to achieving them
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Long-term goals, employment, treatment, realistic and linked to the aims
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Develop a crisis plan, identifying triggers and coping mechanisms and accessing help (e.g. phone numbers)
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It is also important to try and get a good night’s sleep, this can be easier said than done. Try some relaxation techniques, like listening to music without lyrics or the sound of rain and practising deep breathing can help.
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Meditation -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyy0ra2WcQQ
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Mindfulness -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzR62JJCMBQ
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Physical health impacts your mental health too.
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A balanced diet including fruit and vegetables will give you energy and regular exercise can boost self-esteem, sleep quality and reduce the risk of stress.
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A healthy balanced diet -
https://www.food.gov.uk/scotland/scotnut/healthycatering/healthycatering2/healthycatering02
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It’s also important to look at what not to eat or drink: too much alcohol and street drugs can have a negative impact in the short term and long term.
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Accessing drug and alcohol misuse services may be helpful
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Recommended alcohol intake -
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/what-is-alcohol/daily-guidelines
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Hobbies can be a good distraction and a great way to meet others and if not just take your mind off of things for a little while.
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Joining a support group for people living with the same condition as yourself can also be a good chance to get other lived experience and advice.
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Find local support groups -
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Some people find a lot of useful information online or from reading self-help books. Some useful books might be; “Sometimes I act crazy” (borderline personality disorder), "Borderline personality disorder for dummies",
Remember to reward yourself for when you cope in difficult times!
Check out our blog for relaxation tips
Link
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychological talking treatments or therapies for personality disorders include psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies.
Theory behind it?
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In this approach causes of psychological problems are thought to be due to unresolved problems or repressed trauma and denial.
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Past negative experiences cause patterns of distorted thinking which influence your behaviour throughout life.
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These conflicts are brought to the conscious mind in therapy so they can be worked through.
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Therapy then explores how these misrepresentations developed and aims to reduce their impact on your thinking and behaviour, to make better decisions and interact with others better.
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This type of therapy can give you a greater sense of self from learning about your past experiences and how this has made you who you are today.
How long does is take?
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These can last for several months or even years.
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Sessions usually occur on a one to one basis weekly or fortnightly.
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Psychodynamic therapy can be a shorter term treatment than psychoanalytic.
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One type of psychodynamic therapy is short-term (intensive) psychodynamic therapy, in this therapy sessions will be more frequent, once or several times a week.
What happens?
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This type of psychotherapy looks at how past experiences in childhood and unconscious thought have affected current behaviour and relationships.
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Sessions will involve an open talking space where you can freely talk about anything.
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A trusting relationship between client and therapist needs to develop so you are reassured you are in a non-judgemental safe environment.
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In short-term (intensive) psychodynamic therapy the focus is on change and immediate problems and feelings in the present but still caused by past experiences.
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This will tackle your resistance to change and help you to overcome unconscious problems still, as in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy.
Therapy techniques
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During this listening and discussion, the therapist may use some techniques to identify the causes for your concerns.
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This could include; transference, interpretation and free association.
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Transference is when you may transfer emotions, thoughts and feelings onto the therapist which could be related to important people in your life. This is an unconscious redirection of feelings onto someone else which can help the person better understand your relationships.
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Interpretation is when the therapist may stay quiet and listen and ‘read between the lines’ of what you are saying to work out the deeper meaning and reasons behind it.
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Free association encourages you to talk freely about anything which enters your mind, not leaving anything in or unspoken. This allows the therapist to explore your emotional state and any patterns which come up.
What is psychodynamic psychotherapy? -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4tB8ziP5_M
Click here
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Psychological talking treatments or therapies for personality disorders include psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies.
Theory behind it?
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In this approach causes of psychological problems are thought to be due to resolved problems or repressed trauma and denial.
-
Past negative experiences cause patterns of distorted thinking which influence your behaviour throughout life.
-
These conflicts are brought to the conscious mind in therapy so they can be worked through.
-
Therapy then explores how these misrepresentations developed and aims to reduce their impact on your thinking and behaviour, make better decisions and interact with others better.
-
This type of therapy can give you a greater sense of self from learning about your past experiences and how this has made you who you are today.
How long does it take?
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These can last for several years.
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Sessions usually occur on a one to one basis weekly or fortnightly.
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Psychodynamic therapy can be a shorter term treatment than psychoanalytic.
What happens?
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This type of psychotherapy looks at how past experiences in childhood and unconscious thought have affected current behaviour and relationships.
-
Sessions will involve an open talking space where you can freely talk about anything.
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A trusting relationship between client and therapist needs to develop so you are reassured you are in a non-judgemental safe environment.
Therapy techniques
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During this listening and discussion, the therapist may use some techniques to identify the causes for your concerns.
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This could include; transference, interpretation and free association.
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Transference is when you may transfer emotions, thoughts and feelings onto the therapist which could be related to important people in your life. This is an unconscious redirection of feelings onto someone else which can help the person better understand your relationships.
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Interpretation is when the therapist may stay quiet and listen and ‘read between the lines’ of what you are saying to work out the deeper meaning and reasons behind it.
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Free association encourages you to talk freely about anything which enters your mind, not leaving anything in or unspoken. This allows the therapist to explore your emotional state and any patterns which come up.
Clinician's introduction to Psychoanalysis -
Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT)
Cognitive analytical therapy (CAT) focuses on relationship patterns and behaviour which cause you problems.
Theory behind it?
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How you think about things affects how to behave and that behaviour affects how you think and feel. This is a cycle and when it is negative it can have a damaging affect on your life.
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In these cases thoughts and behaviour must both be changed at the same time.
How long do they take?
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CAT is a brief therapies.
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A course of 5-20 sessions lasting for between 30-60 minutes will usually be given once a week or once every other week.
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Individual, couple or group therapy can be given using these techniques.
What happens?
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After identifying your problem areas you will explore the effect they have on yourself and others.
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The therapist cannot remove your problems but will give you the skills to manage them for a more positive result.
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In CAT the therapist will explore how your problems started and ask about your past relationships. The relationship you have with yourself, others and the therapist is important when trying to change negative behaviour and thoughts.
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You will be asked to think about the problems which have brought you to therapy, past relationships and experiences. This will help the therapist map out your problem patterns to help you understand why you repeat certain unhelpful behaviours.
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This forms the reformulation phase, here the therapist takes information you have told them and writes a letter to you. It summarises their understanding of your problems and is discussed with you and becomes the basis for your therapy (what you want to change).
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The next phase is recognition. In daily life you may be asked to record (e.g. in a diary) when your problems happen, this is to identify why they happened.
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In the revision phase the problems recorded earlier are discussed and better ways of coping with the problems are suggested, to reduce the negative impact they could have.
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Goodbye letters are written to and from the therapist and yourself at the end of therapy to outline what has been changed and what still needs to be worked on. Then some follow-up sessions will be suggested at a later date to check your progress.
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Working with a therapist in CAT will help you to recognise the patterns in your behaviour and thoughts, break down the problems into smaller parts and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviour to break the cycle of negativity and therefore improve your state of mind.
Links
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on recognising negative thoughts which affect your behaviour and feelings.
Theory behind it?
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How you think about things affects how to behave and that behaviour affects how you think and feel. This is a cycle and when it is negative it can have a damaging affect on your life.
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In these cases thoughts and behaviour must both be changed at the same time.
How long do they take?
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CBT is a brief therapies.
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A course of 5-20 sessions lasting for between 30-60 minutes will usually be given once a week or once every other week.
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Individual, couple or group therapy can be given using these techniques.
What happens?
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After identifying your problem areas you will explore the effect they have on yourself and others.
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The therapist cannot remove your problems but will give you the skills to manage them for a more positive result.
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In CBT the therapist focuses on the current problems rather than past experiences to help you deal with existing issues more positively on a daily basis. However, some discussion of past experiences is necessary to understand current feelings.
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Once you have both discussed what can be changed you will be given skills and asked to practise them daily and any progress will be reviewed in your next therapy session.
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The aim is to use skills to manage your problems to reduce the negative impact they could have on your life.
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Working with a therapist in CBT will help you to recognise the patterns in your behaviour and thoughts, break down the problems into smaller parts and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviour to break the cycle of negativity and therefore improve your state of mind.
British Medical Journal Group explaining CBT for OCD (not OCPD) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3wHkwiuCo
NHS therapist explaining CBT
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSO6iAFekPw
Dr Beck describing Cognitive Therapy
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07JqktJGyyA
Dialetical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a type of CBT which is used to help people cope with emotional instability in a better way. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says DBT can be particularly helpful if you have borderline personality disorder.
Theory behind it?
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Techniques from CBT and Zen Buddhism are used to help you spot and control your emotions and behaviour.
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Once you have recognised unhelpful behaviour (e.g. drinking alcohol, suicidal thoughts) you will be taught new skills to change that behaviour.
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DBT is based on the idea that you are emotionally vulnerable and you grew up in an environment where your emotions were not regarded as valid by others around you (e.g. you were told you were just “being silly”).
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This causes a vicious cycle where you have intense upsetting emotions but feel guilty and worthless about it, which then makes you more upset.
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In DBT the aim is to break this cycle using validation and dialetics.
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Validation involves accepting that your emotions are real and acceptable like anyone else’s.
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Dialetics is the idea nothing is really ‘black and white’ so you need to be open to ideas that are different from your own.
How long does it take?
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DBT can last for a year with weekly sessions
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This can be one to one or group therapy and telephone calls
What happens?
There are four main parts of DBT
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Mindfulness
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Interpersonal effectiveness
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Distress tolerance
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Emotion regulation
Mindfulness
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Mindfulness is being aware of what is going on inside ourselves
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What are you feeling, and thinking in one moment of time, the here and now?
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In DBT mindfulness says that we have three states of mind – emotional, reasonable and wise.
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We want to use the wise mind because it is a combination of the emotional and reasonable minds. We can be compassionate and accepting in the wise mind.
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Mindfulness skills focus on being present and experiencing what is happening now.
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The main skills are; observing, describing, participating, not judging, one-mindfulness (doing one thing at a time) and effectiveness.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
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Interpersonal response patterns taught in DBT skills training include effective strategies for asking for what you need, saying no, and coping with interpersonal (social/relationship) conflict.
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You may be able to describe other’s effective behaviour in difficult situations, but can’t carry out the same behaviour or analyse your own situation.
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This skill involves coping with changing things and resisting other people’s changes, so relationships are not damaged.
Distress Tolerance
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This is accepting, handling and finding meaning for distress.
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Skills are taught to be able to bear pain without judgement of yourself or the situation so you are able to survive the crisis.
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These skills include; distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment and thinking of pros and cons.
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There are also acceptance skills which include; radical acceptance, turning the mind toward acceptance, and willingness versus willfulness.
Emotion Regulation
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This is managing your emotions because they can be intense and distressing.
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DBT skills for emotion regulation include; Identifying and labelling emotions, identifying obstacles to changing emotions, reducing vulnerability to “emotional mind”, increasing positive emotional events, increasing mindfulness to current emotions, taking opposite action, and applying distress tolerance techniques.
The developer of DBT, Marsha Lineham explains DBT in this video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1GBvPVvOhA
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Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT)
Making sense of what other people think, want and intend is mentalising. Being aware of your own mind and what other people could be thinking can be very difficult when you are distressed.
Theory behind it
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It is based on the idea that some people with personality disorders find it hard to mentalise (explore their own thoughts and beliefs and that of others).
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People don’t have the same opinions and beliefs as each other. So being able to realise that your interpretations of what others are thinking or feeling may not be correct is the focus of MBT.
How long does it take?
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It is long-term and can last for 18months
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This can be one-to-one and group therapy several times a week
What happens?
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The therapist and client will be able to build a relationship through meeting for therapy in a comfortable, safe space.
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The aim is to improve your ability to recognise mental states and think about thinking.
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You may be asked about empathising (understand how someone else is feeling) and to consider what someone else might be feeling in a difficult situation. This is a good way to practice thinking about other perspectives which are different from your own.
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Your actions can impact other people’s mental states, so you may be asked about some past experiences to see how your present mental state is influenced by your past experiences.
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Having said that, the focus is on your feelings ‘here and now’ and learning to explore those thoughts and feelings in therapy so you will be able to practice this anytime when at home.
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Looking at your current feelings anytime will be useful for when you are distressed, so you can identify whether your distressing feelings are useful, realistic and based on reality.
Here is a video of a role play of a mentalisation based therapy session -
Click here
Links
Schema Focused Therapy
Schema therapy is a psychotherapy particularly used to reduce symptoms of personality disorders and depression. It helps to changed negative ‘maladaptive’ behaviour patterns which have developed over time.
Theory behind it
Schemas are themes of thinking, feeling and behaving/coping. They can develop at all stages throughout life. Elements of cognitive behaviour therapy, Gestalt therapy and psychoanalytic therapy all influenced the development of schema focused therapy.
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Cognitive behaviour therapy tells us that changing the way we think and behave can help us manage problems better.
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Gestalt therapy emphasises personal responsibility, present experience and how we adjust, depending on different situations.
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Psychoanalytic therapy ideas include object relations and attachment theories. These inform schema focused therapy by looking at the development of a psyche in relation to others when we are young.
How long does it take?
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Your therapist will be able to advise you on this after your assessment
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It is likely to be a long-term process, lasting for years rather than months, commonly longer than 18months
What happens?
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The schemas targeted in therapy are the negative dysfunctional thoughts and feelings which usually developed in early life.
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This therapy is designed to help change negative patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving and replace them with new learnt healthier alternatives.
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The therapist will name different states which relate to behaviour that you do. These include: healthy adult mode, vulnerable child modes, anger child modes, happy child mode, and maladaptive coping modes.
More information can be found here:
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There are three main phases of schema focused therapy:
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Assessment phase: identifies schemas and explores patterns of behaviour.
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Emotional awareness and experiential phase: learning to identify these schemas in everyday life.
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Behavioural change stage: this is when you try to replace the negative thoughts and behaviours with new healthier core beliefs and behaviours. Role play and imagery are used to reinforce these cognitive and emotional changes
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SFT was initially developed to help people with borderline personality disorder, but it can now be more widely used by people experiencing symptoms of other personality disorders although this has not been tested as much yet.
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Find further detailed information here:
http://www.contemporarypsychotherapy.org/vol-2-no-2/schema-theray/
Psychotherapist explaining Schema Therapy using narcisstic personality disorder as an example -
Family Therapy
A family is a group of people who care about each other and call themselves a family. You do not all have to attend the therapy sessions, it could just be one family member at a time or different combinations of family members.
Theory behind it
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Family relationships are an important factor in psychological health
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Psychoanalysis, attachment theory, social, behavioural and learning theories all helped form theories about the nature and functioning of the family.
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The psychoanalytic ideas influencing family therapy include:
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unconscious communication
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transference and countertransference in the therapeutic relationship (your feelings passed on and felt through the therapist or interacting with the therapist like you did with a significant person)
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ideas about attachment in early childhood
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conditions for thinking and emotional containment (approaching and avoiding talking about experiences)
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Attachment theory tells us about ealry childhood attachments made with significant others (parents)
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Social, learning and behavioural theories also offer ideas about how we learn to behave in certain ways with different people and what happens when we do those behaviours.
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The roles of communication and feedback were thought to be important for understanding causes.
How long does it take?
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This depends on what you and the therapist decide, 5-20 sessions
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Every 2-4 weeks, 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours a session
What happens?
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Helps people in close relationships explore difficult thoughts and emotions and to appreciate each other’s views to make useful changes in behaviour to develop a better relationship with the use of skills.
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The focus is on problem solving rather than cause and blame.
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Family functions and strengths are identified
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Conflicts and anxieties are explored
Therapy techniques
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Structural therapy (family organisation)
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Strategic therapy (patterns of interactions between family members)
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Systemic/Milan therapy (belief systems)
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Narrative Therapy (context, separation of the problem from the person)
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Transgenerational Therapy (unhelpful behaviour)
Plymouth Community Healthcare offer family therapy:
http://www.plymouthcommunityhealthcare.co.uk/services/family-therapy
Family matters is a small Plymouth based charity which offers family therapy:
http://www.familymatters-plymouth.co.uk/wp-site/
Links
Links
Interpersonal Therapy
IPT targets psychiatric symptoms, interpersonal relationship functioning, and social support. The idea behind IPT is that symptoms are a response to difficulties we experience when interacting with other people. If we learn to interact with others better then these symptoms should improve.
Theory behind it
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Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is based on the theory that our relationships with the world and other people can really affect our mental health.
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Attachment theory, Communication theory and Social theory all make up IPT.
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Attachment theory tells us about the importance of the relationship between client and therapist. It must be built up as a secure and trusting relationship. Behaviour performed in the present with other people also tells us about patterns of past behaviour and how these are linked to attachments.
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Social theory tells us that by changing social behaviour and interactions with others we can reduce symptoms. By improving the quality of relationships in the ‘here and now’, future interactions will be handled more positively.
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Communication theory tells us about the new developing ever-changing ways of interacting with each other. This can be through social media, email and texting etc. These extra ways of interacting need to be understood as they provide new ways of causing stress.
How long does it take?
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The number of sessions offered varies from 6-20 sessions
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Your therapist might make a follow-up session with you to see how you are getting on 6 months later
What happens?
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During IPT, you will be asked to explore relationship areas which can hold negative issues.
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These may include: conflicts with others, grief and loss, life changes that effect how you feel about yourself and others and difficulty in starting and maintaining relationships.
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The therapist will start give you an assessment to find out what your needs are. This will involve asking you questions about your symptoms and past relationships, to see what your interactions are like. You may also be asked to complete questionnaires in some therapy sessions to help you and your therapist see any progress.
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After the assessment you and your therapist will agree on focus areas which you would like to make a change on.
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The concepts applied in treatment include;
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interpersonal triad (model for distress- when a crisis happens how is it managed by you and what factors about you effect how you cope)
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biopsychosocial model (how biological, psychological and social factors influence your behaviour)
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interpersonal inventory (your relationship history and patterns of interactions with others, problems and expectations and then setting a treatment goal) and interpersonal problem areas
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interpersonal formulation (the details and information which make you you, using the biopsychosocial model and life events/crisis to show a map to the cause of your distress)
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present focus (focus on current relationship problems)
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collaboration & goal consensus and positive regard for the patient (an agreed aim of therapy and mutual respect from therapist to client)
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Techniques
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communication analysis (help clients to reflect on conflicts with other people, focus on non-verbal aspects of that situation, identify what the client would have wanted to do differently, thinking about how the other person in the conflict would have been feeling, finding alternative ways of communicating rather than having conflicts).
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use of content affect (the affect and emotions you felt at the time of the incident) & process affect (emotions you feel whilst talking about an incident).
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role playing and other “common” techniques
Further information can be found on the IPT Factsheet link on this webpage:
http://www.talkingtherapies.berkshire.nhs.uk/page_sa.asp?fldKey=239
Explanation of Interpersonal Therapy using depression as an example -
Therapeutic Communities
Therapeutic communities are structured environments which are organised so that people can come together and interact and take part in therapy with other people who have a personality disorder (or other condition). It is an intensive form of therapy where your condition can be explored in depth.
Theory behind it
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Many people with a personality disorder have difficulties with relationships with other people. Attending a therapeutic community can be seen as a continuous form of group therapy and can help interaction.
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It draws on systemic, psychodynamic, group analytic, cognitive-behavioural and humanistic theories.
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Attachment theory is a key aspect. The role of attachments and support from members of the therapeutic community and having responsibility to empower the self is an emotional development model. So this means close relationships will be made, like in a family, and new behaviour and cognitions can be made which are more positive.
How long does it take?
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People attend between one day a week and five days a week so may require a big commitment.
What happens?
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They are usually residential, but can be non-residential, on the internet, face-to-face or in prisons.
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When residential everyone is encouraged to work together, democratically, so tasks and decisions are shared.
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There will be guidelines for acceptable behaviour in the community. So being allowed to attend will depend upon how you manage to control your behaviour. It is not for everyone and may also not be right for someone at a particularly bad point in time.
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Expressing feelings about each other’s behaviour as well as your own is encouraged in group discussions to help each other.
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Some therapeutic communities include individual therapy and some do not. Medication is also not usually involved.
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The aim is to teach people with long-standing emotional problems and a history of self-harming better social skills and behaviours to interact with others.
Medication
There is currently no medication to treat personality disorders. Some medications may be prescribed to help reduce some other problems such as, depression, anxiety or psychotic symptoms.
Being depressed or anxious can make it harder for some people to attend therapy, so they may be prescribed an anti-depressant these are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).
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These may be helpful for cluster B personality disorders (antisocial or dissocial, borderline or emotionally unstable, histrionic, and narcissistic) depending on the symptoms experienced.
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They can reduce impulsivity and aggression for cluster B people and reduce anxiety in cluster C people (obsessive-compulsive, avoidant and dependent).
Mood-stabilising medication may also be helpful for some people, particularly with depression or schizophrenia.
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These could include: lithium, carbamazepine, and sodium valproate.
Antipsychotic drugs may be useful for some cluster A people (paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal) as it can reduce their suspiciousness.
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It can also be used with cluster B people who experience feeling paranoid or are hearing voices.
Explanation of drug use for BPD -
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Arts Therapies
The Arts Therapies are a form of psychotherapy which offer a unique way of communicating and exploring feelings and relationships. It focuses on using non-verbal, creative aspects of communication, expression and human experience.
This can be really helpful for people who have experienced trauma before spoken language. In these types of therapy the power of creativity for developing an individual’s sense of wholeness, confidence, self-awareness and potential can be explored.
The role of the arts therapies is to help those who struggle to find expression and meaning where words fail and distress and confusion can be overwhelming.
These types of arts therapies available to people through groups and individual sessions include: Music Therapy, Drama Therapy and Art Therapy.
What happens?
Art:
Art therapy values the use of art materials as part of the therapeutic experience. The art created in art therapy has the capacity to promote individual growth, develop awareness and enable the expression of powerful feelings. The art work becomes the focus of sensitive exploration and developing understanding with the therapist.
This may involve working with objects, such as stones, wood or things attached to experiences. Clay, photography, paint and pencils can also be used.
Drama:
In a group aims to nurture a safe and supportive environment so as to gently facilitate clients’ therapeutic work towards a better sense and understanding of themselves and their relationships, and for personal boundaries to be strengthened and affirmed.
In a session you may use role play, speech, movement, improvisation, and/or rhythm to express feelings and/or relationships.
Music:
Music therapy involves a relationships between the therapist and client in which music becomes a way of promoting change and growth. Both client and therapist play an active part in music making, held in a safe space. This aims to facilitate the expression and release of feelings which can be shared and thought about creatively.
Percussion instruments are usually shared amongst the group for you to play, and you don't need to have any experience of playing or reading music.
Dance/Movement:
Dance and movement therapy use the body to channel and communicate feelings and explore self-awareness. The connectedness we have with our bodies and the relationship we have with the world and others can be discovered using this non-verbal creative technique.
The individual, couples or groups of people participating do not need to have any previous dance training or skills as the focus is on the therapeutic process.
These different forms of arts therapies can help a variety of people who have different needs, these include:
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People who are confused by their feelings
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People who struggle to find words to describe their feelings
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People who are withdrawn
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People who find it hard to develop relationships
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People who feel disempowered
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People who would benefit from gentle therapeutic involvement
You can find information about arts therapies from these national organisations and their websites:
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Health Professionals Council www.healthprofessionalscouncil.org.uk
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British Association of Art therapists www.baat.org
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Association of Professional Music Therapists www.bamt.org
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The British Association of Drama therapists www.badth.org.uk
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The Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK www.admt.org.uk
Personality Disorders Plymouth