Orientation in borderland help for people with borderline
About one to two percent of the population suffers from borderline personality disorder. Mostly adolescents and young adults are affected, men and women alike. They have often experienced neglect, violence, severe trauma, sometimes in early childhood. People with borderline personality disorder are under enormous emotional pressure, react to this with self-injury (up to and including attempted suicide), and yet find it difficult to find help. Yet the disorder can be managed with appropriate therapy, says Dr. Elisabeth Wilking, senior physician at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Muhlenkreiskliniken and a qualified DBT therapist for many years.
"Borderline patients live according to the all-or-nothing principle," she says, describing what is typical of this personality disorder. Moods can turn into the opposite from one moment to the next. This means a constant state of emergency not only for those affected, but also for their social environment. Managing everyday life under such conditions becomes a challenge that patients fail at time and again.
After a project phase lasting several years, a promising therapy concept has now become firmly established at the Lubbecke clinic site. On Ward 2A of the University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, a multiprofessional team offers people with borderline personality disorder an inpatient treatment program based on the principles of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which was developed in the 1980s by American psychologist Marsha Linehan.
The basic requirement here is that the individual is willing to work on his or her own to develop skills to manage the condition. "When a patient comes to us and says, 'Make me feel better,' we have to tell them, 'We can't do that.'. To solve the problem is not in our power. But we understand that you are not doing well, we can explain to you from a professional point of view what is going on with you, and we can work with you that you get the problem under control,'" said Dr. Elisabeth Wilking. Those affected are supported in finding access to their self-healing powers. This makes it possible for them to cope with the symptoms of the disorder. Therapists and patients form an alliance for this – and at eye level.
The necessary tools to "make something of their lives despite the heavy mortgage they carry around guiltlessly," as Dr. Wilking describes the situation of borderline patients, they get a six-week inpatient stay. In group and individual therapy, participants learn about the medical background of their behavior, are trained in mindfulness and gain skills to help control emotional tension and their own behavior. The DBT team, consisting of various professional groups such as physicians, psychologists and nursing staff, works closely together in this process, and occupational and physical therapy as well as social work are also firmly involved. The prerequisite and condition for participation in the therapy program is a personal interview to clarify the motivation of the borderline patient. Because: "The drive and the will to change something, even if it's hard, has to be there," emphasizes Dr. Wilking.
The next inpatient course of the University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in the Medical Center for Mental Health, Virchowstrabe 65, in Lubbecke begins on 4. March. Interested persons can apply until 20. February to the management of Station 2A (Marianne Uphoff and Ria Meyer) at 0 57 41 / 35 – 47 42 01, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., to make an appointment for a preliminary interview. A referral by a physician is necessary.