Understanding why you behave a certain way doesn’t always mean you know how to change it.
In this episode of The BPD Bunch, Xannie sits down with Bob Drozek, director of the Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) Clinic at McLean Hospital, to explore how MBT helps people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) better understand their thoughts, emotions, and relationships.
They discuss what mentalization actually means, why intense emotions can make it harder to consider other perspectives, and how MBT differs from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
Xannie also shares how trying to understand the origins of her own BPD sometimes became a way to explain away behaviors rather than work toward changing them.
In this episode:
- What mentalization is and why it can be difficult with BPD
- How MBT works and how it differs from DBT
- Understanding the feelings and needs underneath our reactions
- How MBT approaches identity, shame, and dissociation
- Why knowing the reasons behind a behavior doesn’t always change it
- How therapists help people explore their own mental states
- What MBT can offer people working toward BPD recovery.
Whether you’re exploring treatment options, trying to understand your own reactions, or supporting someone with BPD, we hope this conversation gives you a useful introduction to MBT and a different way to think about change.
Buy the book:
https://amzn.to/4hTJej0
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Worksheets and handouts for the book:
https://global.oup.com/booksites/content/9780198916857/
Mentalization Coach app:
https://www.resiliens.com/en/mentalization-coach
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Disclaimer:Although several of our panelists work in the mental health field, we are all coming to you as people in functional recovery from BPD, and are not here to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
