eiseEducation

After decades of therapeutic pessimism surrounding borderline personality disorder (BPD), the 1990s marked a turning point. A series of controlled trials demonstrated that BPD is not only treatable but responsive to several structured, evidence-based psychotherapies. Early in the decade, both Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and the Conversational Model (CM) showed strong outcome evidence; Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) followed later in the 1990s. Since then, multiple treatments have achieved RCT-level support—each showing broadly comparable outcomes despite proposing very different mechanisms of change.

In this webinar, Dr Nick Bendit will provide a clear and clinically grounded overview of the major evidence-based treatments for BPD. He will compare how leading models conceptualise the disorder, how they aim to facilitate change, and where their mechanisms overlap. Particular attention will be given to DBT as the best-known CBT-aligned model and CM as a leading psychodynamic approach, using both to illuminate the “common factors” that appear to drive therapeutic improvement across modalities.

Dr Bendit will also briefly review additional interventions commonly used in mental health settings—such as medication, case management, disability support services, and family programs—and their role in comprehensive BPD care. Finally, he will outline recent statewide (NSW) initiatives aimed at increasing access to high-quality BPD interventions within public mental health systems.