Unpacking BPD and Self-Harm: Experts Offer Insights on Myths, Diagnosis, and Treatment
May 6, 2025
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a frequently misunderstood condition. Many myths and mischaracterizations surround BPD in popular culture, in families, and even, unfortunately, among mental health professionals. When it comes to BPD, it’s important to get the facts straight.
McLean has a long history of treating and understanding borderline personality disorder. On April 24, the hospital hosted Myth, Interrupted: The Truth about BPD and Self-Harm, a free online course on the condition. Over 1,000 clinicians, family members, and other invested individuals attended the event.
Throughout the course—now available to watch anytime on demand—experts discuss how to diagnose and treat BPD, the role of self-harm in BPD, and how BPD affects family life.
“BPD is untreatable, recovery isn’t possible, it can’t be seen in teenagers, it doesn’t affect men. Self-harm is just a cry for help. I’m so tired of hearing these myths,” says Scott J. O’Brien, director of Education Outreach at McLean.
“The widespread misinformation about both BPD and self-harm was the real driver behind this course. The conversations in this training focus on shedding light on what BPD is, as well as what it isn’t. And by making this information easily accessible, especially to health care professionals and family members, we really aim to make a difference in the lives of people who are struggling and often misunderstood.”
Access the Course!
Watch this FREE, on-demand training now and increase your knowledge, skills, and compassion to better understand and assist individuals struggling with BPD and/or self-harming behavior.
Emotional and Relationship Dynamics in BPD Diagnosis
In Borderline Personality Disorder 101, George W. Smith, LICSW, covers BPD basics, including symptoms, how the condition impacts the person experiencing it, as well as its impact on relationships.
“I think where [BPD] shows up most is with the emotional volatility, and being sensitive to things that happen in relationships can often lead to emotional dysregulation,” Smith says.
At the root of understanding BPD is making an accurate diagnosis. In Diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-Harm, Andrea Gold, PhD, and Ana Rodriguez-Villa, MD, MBA, join Smith in an in-depth discussion on assessment.
Rodriguez-Villa shares how BPD presents as instability of emotional experience within relationships, and within oneself.
She points out, “Often you’ll see overt conflict within relationships, and a tendency to feel misunderstood within relationships.”
Gold adds that when it comes to diagnosing BPD, understanding levels of emotional vulnerability, sensitivity, and reactivity is important. “People with BPD feel their emotions very quickly,” she said.
She emphasizes that the role of validation in addressing heightened emotions is key, and that it’s important when people with BPD have big emotions that they also “have an experience of being seen and heard.”
How Validation Shaped Courtney’s BPD Recovery
In her session, Living and Thriving With Borderline Personality Disorder, Deconstructing Stigma participant Courtney Cook describes how her parents’ validation and support helped her in her own recovery.
“I felt like they just showed up for me, no matter how I was in that moment,” she says. “I never felt like they viewed me as hopeless or saw me as someone who needed to be fixed.”
A Stigma-Free Approach to BPD Treatment
In Effective Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-Harm, Karen L. Jacob, PhD, and Anna Precht, PsyD, discuss the stigma around BPD, and stress that it is a treatable condition, especially when someone has support.
According to Precht, continued stigma around the condition makes it hard for the public at large, and even treaters, to understand BPD.
“The onus, too, is on our training institutions to train clinicians differently, to emphasize that this is a treatable condition,” she says.
Jacob highlights the difference that supportive loved ones can make in the treatment process: “When somebody is in active treatment for borderline personality disorder and loved ones can educate themselves, understand the vulnerabilities, and learn how to help, it can really be a game changer.”
The Role of Family in BPD Treatment
Jim Holsomback expands on the role of family in BPD treatment in When Home Feels Heavy: Family Life Amid Emotional Dysregulation and Self-Harm.
In addition to guiding families on how to find effective treatment for their loved ones, Holsomback urges them to learn as much as they can about BPD treatment while also making space for self-care. He states that communication within the family is critical, especially when seeking treatment for the first time.
He says the ideal message from a family to a loved one with BPD is, “This isn’t a ‘you’ problem—this is a ‘we’ problem. We need to make sure we’re a more effective family system, and we’re all going to do this work because this is as important to us as we’re hoping it is to you.”
