In treating borderline personality disorder, which therapy is commonly recommended?

In treating borderline personality disorder, which therapy is commonly recommended?

• A. Antipsychotics
• B. Mood stabilizers
• C. Psychotherapy
• D. Antidepressants

Answer: (C)

Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder. Specialized approaches like dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) have the strongest evidence and focus on building skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills directly address the core features of BPD—emotional volatility, impulsive behavior, and unstable relationships—and consistently reduce self-harm, suicidality, and hospitalizations over time. Medications can help with specific symptoms or coexisting conditions (for example, antidepressants for depressive symptoms or antipsychotics for transient psychotic-like symptoms), but they don’t reliably change the underlying patterns of BPD when used alone. That’s why psychotherapy is commonly recommended as the main treatment approach.

Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder. Specialized approaches like dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) have the strongest evidence and focus on building skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills directly address the core features of BPD—emotional volatility, impulsive behavior, and unstable relationships—and consistently reduce self-harm, suicidality, and hospitalizations over time.

Medications can help with specific symptoms or coexisting conditions (for example, antidepressants for depressive symptoms or antipsychotics for transient psychotic-like symptoms), but they don’t reliably change the underlying patterns of BPD when used alone. That’s why psychotherapy is commonly recommended as the main treatment approach.