Book Review: “Healing From Borderline Personality Disorder: My Journey Out of Hell Through Dialectical Behavior Therapy” – Personal Story & New Perspective
With nearly 35 years of experience helping families as a practicing child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, it’s been my privilege to get to know and help so many individuals and their families, including those who I meet in my role as Executive Director of OPI Intensive, a specialized BPD treatment program for young adults who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD traits and co-occurring conditions, and individuals who wish to know more about how our program works with whom we are privileged to connect with.
It was a gift to connect earlier this year with one such person, Debbie Corso, who is passionately sharing her own story about BPD with the world through regular blogging efforts, on a site called HealingFromBPD.org, dedicated to chronicling her “personal journey of living with and healing from Borderline Personality Disorder,” and her experiences with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) treatment.
Recently, Debbie released a book compiling selections from her blog, answers to questions submitted by online readers, retrospective commentaries, an autobiographical sketch, helpful resources and a more detailed look at her struggle with BPD as she emerges from a second year of DBT therapy in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I had the opportunity to review Debbie’s insightful new book titled, “Healing From Borderline Personality Disorder: My Journey Out of Hell Through Dialectical Behavior Therapy.”
The authenticity, directness and clarity of the shared internal experiences in this book give life, meaning and understanding to clinical terms such as “splitting” and “translating DSM symptoms” to a complex and unique person. I share Debbie’s views that there is not one approach that works for everyone suffering from BPD, and from a clinician’s perspective, having choices of approaches, strategies and resources in crafting a treatment approach that works for the individual suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, is the essence of a favorable therapeutic outcome.
I believe the process of “therapy” is fundamentally a unique relationship where both parties acknowledge that the goal is to work towards finding greater patience, tolerance, compassion and reclaimed joy in life, and if the therapy works, all are enriched from the experience. I believe that reading this book would be helpful for both clinicians as well as those experiencing the emotional suffering of BPD.
When asked about the purpose of her new book, Debbie shared this with me:
“The purpose of my book is to encourage and bring genuine hope to those diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and their loved ones. We can and do get better, and I take readers on my own personal journey through and out of hell in a way that has not been presented by a DBT patient before. Forget the stereotypes and stigmas that people have been conditioned to believe about BPD patients. It’s my goal that those who suffer from BPD find hope in the pages of my book from a new perspective.”
Debbie has been kind enough to offer our OPI Intensive blog readers the chance to receive a free copy of her book, so I welcome you to go and connect with our OPI Intensive Help for BPD Facebook and Twitter pages to learn more about how to win a chance for a free copy. If you don’t win a copy, be sure to think about buying one, as it’s less than $8 and might contain something valuable in your own recovery or therapeutic practice that you can use or share!
