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Borderline personality and bipolar disorder are very different, but because some of the symptoms of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder look alike, they can often be difficult to tell apart. This is true even for many psychologists, and so the disorders are often misdiagnosed by those lacking the appropriate training and experience. Because both disorders begin in adolescence, they are also often dismissed by doctors as a tough case of adolescent angst and rebellion. They then advise families to begin a "tough love" regimen. This leaves the suffering adolescent with no choice but to try and self-medicate with drugs and alcohol in a desperate attempt to suppress the disorder. This doesn't work, of course, and thus "tough love" only makes the disorders worse. 

There is a much better way of coping with borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Dr. Parker Wilson is an expert in the treatment of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. The symptoms of borderline personality disorder are primarily treated with dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness based cognitive therapy, and medication. Using these methods, Dr. Wilson has a clinical effectiveness rate of 60% which is nearly double some national averages. Bipolar disorder is treated with cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness based cognitive therapy, and medication. Using these methods, Dr. Wilson has a clinical effectiveness of 85% when treating bipolar disorder.   

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NOTE: Please review AMI's fees for service by clicking here. Therapy can be scheduled every week or every other week, depending on the circumstances of the particular clients.

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Wilson, please click here.

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Common similarities of these two disorders are: a fluctuating and extreme mood, impulsivity and recklessness (usually around drugs, alcohol and sex), self harming behavior (cutting, etc), periodic suicidality, "all or nothing" thinking and languaging, and profound instability in relationship. Obsessive-compulsive behaviors are also common in both disorders as an internal way adolescents use to cope with the most debilitating symptoms of the disorders.      

Bipolar Disorder:

Bipolar disorder is unique in that the disturbances it causes in relationships are based in mood, and often disappear when the mood shifts. When depressed, the teen usually functions from a anxious depression, and thus isolation, withdrawal, and hopeless emerge. A light to moderate suicidality can occur in the depressed phase, sometimes accompanied by periodic cutting. When the teen is manic, however, then relationships become over-used, exaggerated, enmeshed, and highly impulsive. Moreover, the teen is also able to see their mood swings as problematic. In essence, usually the teen is aware that something is wrong with their psychology. Because they are aware of the problem on some level, they usually co-operate with medication and therapy, and thus clinical treatment is far more effective and the disease itself does not claim as many lives.   

Borderline Personality Disorder:

Borderline is characterized by pervasive perceptual and thought distortions about relationship. Before we unpack what that thought distortion about relationship is, let's talk about its overall effect. It is this characteristic of borderline that makes it such a difficult illness to treat. The patient believes in the reality of the way they see and understand relationship. In essence, borderline personality disorder is a disease that tells you that you do not have a disease. Because the borderline teen is not aware that something is actually wrong with their perceptions of relationship (from their perspective, it is the world that is mis-calibrated), treatment often feels intrusive, unnecessary, and humiliating to them. The patient typically becomes highly resistant and uncooperative with therapy. They also become uncooperative with their medication treatment regime. This is the primary reason that effectiveness rates are so low for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. 

While treatment with medication is similar to that of bipolar disorder (SSRI's and mood stabilizers), it is this pervasive perceptual and thought distortion about relationship (in particular among all the symptoms of borderline personality disorder) that often calls for the use of an anti-psychotic medication for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. In the most severe cases, coping with borderline personality disorder is only possible when the patient uses an anti-psychotic medication.  

Now, what is the actual distortion about relationship? A borderline teen will see a romantic relationship as the source of their happiness and well being. Like the earth draws life from the sun, a borderline teen will experience a romantic relationship as being the source of life itself. High school romances are, of course, short-lived and intense by nature, thus when that romantic relationship ends, the borderline teen feels deprived, angry, and destroyed. The teen becomes very angry, and majorly depressed. In a state of deep narcissistic pain and self-pity, they begin to hate their former loved one for causing such pain, and a profound suicidality now emerges here as well. To cope, the teen will typically engage in serious cutting, along with the consumption of drugs and alcohol. The teen also begins to "take hostages" around their near obsessive suicidality by passive-aggressively hinting at their impending death to friends, parents, teachers, and therapists. This leaves friends and family feeling deeply highly manipulated, confused, afraid, and emotionally and physically exhausted. Eventually, for the friends and family, it begins to feel that the borderline teen is truly an "emotional black hole" that consumes entire relationship systems. Also during this majorly depressed phase, a teen can become truly unstable, becoming very aggressive and even violent towards friends and loved ones. Then, usually as a result of a friend or family giving into the borderline teen, she can rapidly shift back to a place of warmth, connection, and seeming health. This is the classic "love you / hate you" dynamic of the borderline personality.      

If left untreated, these two disorders place a teen at high risk for all of the following: dropping out of school, teen pregnancy, having more than fifty sexual partners, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual violation and abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, becoming the victim of a violent crime, incarceration and hospitalization, chronic unemployment, suicide, and pre-mature death.   

It doesn't have to end this way for you or your teen. Both of these disorders are treatable, and in the expert hands of Dr. Parker Wilson, there is reason for hope.

Please do note that because of the time and energy involved in treating borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder, Dr. Wilson does charge more per session when working with these patients. Since the more severe cases are often seen three times a week, and since family is often so interconnected with the treatment (family therapy sessions also cost more per session), these costs can be a serious financial burden for the patient and their family. As a part of the consultation process, Dr. Wilson can help you flesh out your options for financing treatment.   
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If you or someone you love are coping with borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder, please contact Dr. Wilson today.

If this material has been stimulating, please consider purchasing Dr. Wilson's latest online mindfulness seminar.