Adva – Borderline Personality Disorder

Our clinic specializes in providing treatment for individuals facing challenges in emotional regulation, especially those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. This is the first clinic in the public service that operates with the dialectical behavioral method (DBT) and has a professional relationship with the Ofek Institute in Even Yehuda.

When emotional regulation is disrupted, it can show up in a variety of ways. Some of these include impulsive behavior, angry outbursts, unstable or distant relationships, non-consolidated self-identity, a sense of confusion in self-definition, and cognitive instability that ranges from feeling persecuted or suspicious to being emotionally detached.  Sometimes there is a slide into short-term psychotic states, a tendency to use drugs and alcohol and to engage in risky sexual behavior.

The outcome is a sense of significant hardship and challenges in fulfilling the diverse aspects of life: work, relationships, and parenting.  According to Dr. Marsha Linehan's biosocial theory, the founder of the DBT method, borderline personality disorder arises from a combination of an innate disorder in emotion regulation and exposure to an environment that fails to adequately address the person's early needs. Additionally, encounters with various traumas further contribute to this condition.

The dialectical behavioral therapy method (DBT)

The method is based on two foundational principles:

Change can only take place within the context of acceptance and approval. It is vital to receive validation from our environment to cultivate our own sense of self-validation.

Mindfulness, observing the present experience without judgment and increasing our capacity to accept both ourselves and the environment as they are. 

The treatment aims to decrease suicidality and self-harm, if any, as well as minimize behaviors that undermine the quality of life, like eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behavior, and abusive interpersonal relationships, among others. At the same time, the therapist and the patient work together to establish short and long-term goals towards creating a meaningful life worth living.

The treatment approach is based on individual sessions and group participation aimed at acquiring new skills. The curriculum focuses on teaching a set of valuable skills, including:

• Improving listening skills to enhances the ability to observe experiences.
• Improving the capacity to accomplish personal goals in different relationships.
• Increasing the ability to manage emotions effectively.
• Handling current challenges, while working to replace abusive behaviors with better solutions.

In addition to individual and group therapy, we also offer a parent and spouse group, aimed at teaching skills to enhance the interaction between the patient and their immediate environment.