Borderline Personality (BPD) Therapists in 94119
Adrienne Elizabeth Amundsen
Psychologist, PhD
Verified Verified
San Francisco, CA 94119
Because everyone comes with their own needs, goals, and styles, I am flexible in my approach. I can be practical and problem-focused, but much of my work is deeper, and deals with emotional patterns developed early in life, I work a lot with trauma and loss. Attending to the therapy relationship is also important for learning about relationship patterns and trust. I bring my love of creativity to my work as well. Working with dreams and imagery, I find, can bring surprising insight. When therapy really takes off, I find that clients often discover their own creativity and a sense of life purpose.
Because everyone comes with their own needs, goals, and styles, I am flexible in my approach. I can be practical and problem-focused, but much of my work is deeper, and deals with emotional patterns developed early in life, I work a lot with trauma and loss. Attending to the therapy relationship is also important for learning about relationship patterns and trust. I bring my love of creativity to my work as well. Working with dreams and imagery, I find, can bring surprising insight. When therapy really takes off, I find that clients often discover their own creativity and a sense of life purpose.
Audrey Martin, Psychotherapist
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, MFT
Verified Verified
San Francisco, CA 94119
I am an experienced psychotherapist with offices in both San Francisco and Berkeley. I provide therapy for adults and adolescents as my primary focus. I meet with individuals, couples, and families to help them overcome areas of emotional and relational difficulties.
I have an active, open way of working and am curious, engaged, honest, and direct. I take people's need for change very seriously, and am an advocate for finding ways to help people live with greater depth, satisfaction, and choice. While this can involve diligence, resilience, and perseverance, play and creativity are also integral in the process.
I am an experienced psychotherapist with offices in both San Francisco and Berkeley. I provide therapy for adults and adolescents as my primary focus. I meet with individuals, couples, and families to help them overcome areas of emotional and relational difficulties.
I have an active, open way of working and am curious, engaged, honest, and direct. I take people's need for change very seriously, and am an advocate for finding ways to help people live with greater depth, satisfaction, and choice. While this can involve diligence, resilience, and perseverance, play and creativity are also integral in the process.
Kirsten M Bauer
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified Verified
San Francisco, CA 94119
As a child and adult therapist I am fortunate to witness the entire developmental span. With this unique window into the lifespan, I help children, parents, adults and couples gain insight into the patterns being created and already created in the mind of how they relate to and with the world i.e.how they relate to themselves and others. By first developing a safe and respectful relationship with my patients, we can begin to understand and uncover these complicated yet reflexive patterns that at some point served them, by protecting their self integrity, but along the way began to cause more harm then good.
As a child and adult therapist I am fortunate to witness the entire developmental span. With this unique window into the lifespan, I help children, parents, adults and couples gain insight into the patterns being created and already created in the mind of how they relate to and with the world i.e.how they relate to themselves and others. By first developing a safe and respectful relationship with my patients, we can begin to understand and uncover these complicated yet reflexive patterns that at some point served them, by protecting their self integrity, but along the way began to cause more harm then good.
Howard Sugarman
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, MFT
Verified Verified
San Francisco, CA 94119
I bring 40 plus years of assorted, diverse and complex Clinical Experience to the care of my patients. I offer Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy providing Individual, Couple & Family Treatments. MFT License 17611 - May 1982; Certified as a Psychoanalyst by The International Psychoanalytical Association. Working in conjunction with each person that comes to me, I strive to formulate a treatment which is responsive and that creates the conditions to most deeply address their personal concerns.
I bring 40 plus years of assorted, diverse and complex Clinical Experience to the care of my patients. I offer Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy providing Individual, Couple & Family Treatments. MFT License 17611 - May 1982; Certified as a Psychoanalyst by The International Psychoanalytical Association. Working in conjunction with each person that comes to me, I strive to formulate a treatment which is responsive and that creates the conditions to most deeply address their personal concerns.
Jacqueline De Lon
Marriage & Family Therapist, MFT
Verified Verified
San Francisco, CA 94119
To put it simply, I help people with relationship troubles, be they with significant others, children, siblings, parents, employees, employers or with one's self. I was trained first as a Marriage & Family Therapist and later as a Psychoanalyst. Both inform my approach to the work, focusing on the complex landscape of relationships within oneself and with others. Both recognize and inform the special role of the therapeutic relationship in the work of healing. My extensive studies have been personalized and humanized by over 30 years of clinical experience with the people I work with.
To put it simply, I help people with relationship troubles, be they with significant others, children, siblings, parents, employees, employers or with one's self. I was trained first as a Marriage & Family Therapist and later as a Psychoanalyst. Both inform my approach to the work, focusing on the complex landscape of relationships within oneself and with others. Both recognize and inform the special role of the therapeutic relationship in the work of healing. My extensive studies have been personalized and humanized by over 30 years of clinical experience with the people I work with.
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Borderline Personality (BPD) Therapists
What is the most successful approach to treating borderline personality disorder?
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is considered the gold standard of treatment for borderline personality disorder. An evidence-based treatment, it addresses the extreme emotional reactivity, the relationship difficulties, and the acts of self-harm that create so much distress for BPD patients. DBT is a comprehensive program that includes both regular individual psychotherapy sessions and weekly group sessions of skills training.
What happens in treatment of borderline personality disorder?
Treatment typically consists of weekly individual therapy sessions that last an hour and group skill-focused instructional sessions that may last up to two hours. Patients are typically given homework “assignments” in which they are asked to practice in their daily life the skills they acquire in therapy. Patients also keep a diary tracking their emotions and impulses as a way to know which situations are most problematic and to help them gain control over their own behavior. Difficult situations and feelings are typically reviewed in therapy sessions and more constructive solutions found.
What kinds of problems does BPD treatment help with?
DBT was initially developed to dampen the self-destructive impulses of chronically suicidal patients. It is now the treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder, a serious condition marked by extreme emotional reactivity, relationship instability, and self-injurious behaviors. Treatment of BPD helps patients tolerate the flux of emotions without acting on them, often with a specific focus on tolerating negative emotions. DBT addresses the core problems of BPD—fear of abandonment, low self-esteem, and impulsivity.
What is the goal of treatment in borderline personality disorder?
The goal of treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) is to relieve the extreme emotional distress that patients experience—to curb their emotional reactivity, to minimize their inclination to self-harm, and to reduce their impulsivity. Toward these ends, patients are not only taught an array of new coping skills and techniques for emotional regulation, they are given opportunities to practice them. Another major goal of treatment is interpersonal effectiveness; patients learn and problem-solve ways to effectively communicate in relationships, especially how to ask for what they need as a way to minimize hurt feelings.