Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with Prolonged Exposure (PE) is the only research-supported treatment for people with borderline personality disorder and PTSD or people with suicidal or self-harming behaviors and PTSD symptoms. DBT PE may be recommended if a person struggles with chronic patterns of emotion dysregulation and PTSD symptoms are currently the primary problem interfering with the person's quality of life. DBT PE consists of:
comprehensive outpatient DBT including:
weekly individual DBT
weekly DBT skills training group
weekly individual therapy using the PE protocol
Treatment requires an average of 16 sessions. There is flexibility for the format of individual therapy in this treatment, which can include either a once weekly 2 hour individual therapy session, or one 45 minute weekly DBT session and one 90 minute weekly DBT PE session.
DBT PE is a research-supported treatment for both adolescents and adults.