Borderline Personality Disorder, Intimacy Issues Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Borderline Personality Disorder, Intimacy Issues

Borderline personality disorder, like all other personality disorders is a learned behavior pattern that is deeply ingrained and ongoing. It manifests as an inappropriate deviation from social norms and it is a stable behavioural pattern. Social performance is impeded by the subjective distress the person tends to experience.

People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may to alternate between the extremes of devaluation and idealization, and form unstable but intense relationships. They may make frantic attempts to avoid imagined or real abandonment. There are two types of borderline personality disorders; the impulsive BPD is prone to emotional instability and poor impulse control.

Borderline personality disorder sufferers may tend to act impulsively, without paying attention to the consequences and they have a tendency to experience emotional outbursts and be quarrelsome.

Therapy can be beneficial for people with borderline personality disorder and there are some powerful approaches developed recently that bring great hope to those who would be diagnosed with this disorder. Unlike most family members and friends, a psychologist or counsellor has the appropriate training, as well as patience, to withstand the emotional crises the patient will experience over the course of the relationship. These episodes can cause tremendous damage to a person's interpersonal relationships, but a therapist has the skills to remain even tempered and optimistic and knows how to teach better coping skills. It is important to help the person with borderline personality disorder to develop helpful communication skills as well as the capacity to self-regulate emotions.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers therapy to address your borderline personality disorder issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Intimacy issues are common for people who fear vulnerability. Some people can become vulnerable in front of a few trusted friends, however, but when a relationship starts becoming too close, they feel suffocated. In this sense, the intimacy issues are seated in the fear of developing a deep and meaningful relationship with another person.

Two fears that are at the heart of intimacy issues, are the fear of abandonment (fearing the partner might leave them) and the fear of engulfment (fearing that they would lose themselves in a relationship), which sometimes co-exist. These fears, often rooted in childhood traumas, are often deeply entrenched in codependent adult relationships where they cause friction.

A therapist who works with people who have intimacy issues will first help you to learn to become comfortable with yourself and accept yourself for who you are. You will explore the complex past events that have created these intimacy issues and discover that those events don't have to cloud your present experiences.

This process is essential in discovering that rejection does not have to be a traumatic experience. Finally, you will learn how to set personal boundaries that will help you to avoid the fear of engulfment and to cope, should abandonment occur. While healing intimacy issues can be a challenging and somewhat painful task, the rewards are incredible.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who addresses intimacy issues, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psychological approach that deals with the way in which clients think about themselves, other people and the world. The outside world affects how we think and feel about ourselves and as a result, our behaviour. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can help a person to change the way they think about thoughts and feelings, but it is not like other types of talk therapy.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy focuses on current issues and challenges that affect the client right now. It doesn't consider the past issues that caused distress, but rather looks for solutions that can improve the client's state of mind in the moment. Much of CBT involves looking at thought distortions that can affect mood and are affected by mood, and helps client examine and challenge distorted thinking patters.

CBT can help a range of problems, from OCD, PTSD, bulimia, stress, phobias and other issues that might seem overwhelming to the client, by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable chunks.

If you are looking for a therapist who offers Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, please browse our list of practitioners below..

Note: You may narrow your search by selecting more than one filter below.

Shauna Cheney

M.S.W., RSW
If you want to change your life, therapy is a great way to start. I help people develop coping skills to manage complicated thoughts and emotions. With 22 years of experience, I provide a supportive setting... Read more

Linda Williams

M.A., RCC
    • Online booking
Are you ready for a change? Linda is a highly skilled therapist, lecturer and writer, with extensive experience working with individuals, couples, families and children. She embraces all clinical issues, and as a... Read more

Andrew Lee

M.A., RCC
    • Online booking
I am Andrew Lee and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC # 2550). I am dedicated to providing personalized therapy to clients seeking healing, treatment, support, and guidance for various mental health... Read more