Borderline Personality and Related Disorders

The Borderline Emotional Acceptance and Regulation (BEAR) Track provides specialized treatment for patients who struggle with traits of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Although the majority of patients in this track are diagnosed with BPD, the BEAR track is also open to patients who struggle with BPD traits but do not meet full criteria. This may include:

• A pattern of reactive, intense emotions that change frequently
• Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger
• Recurrent self-injury (for example, cutting) as a way to manage emotional pain
• Chronic suicidal thoughts, threats, or acts
• Unstable and intense relationships with friends, family, and treatment providers 
• Changing easily from “loving” to “hating” others
• Impulsivity that is potentially dangerous or harmful (e.g., impulsive spending, sex, eating, alcohol/drug use)
• Feelings of emptiness or emotional “numbness” that persist despite treatment
• Not having a clear or stable sense of self
• Excessive fears of abandonment resulting in relationship difficulties
• Unusual dissociative or paranoid symptoms that worsen with stress

The BEAR track is designed to work in conjunction with the larger partial hospitalization program (PHP) including individual and group therapy, psychiatry and aftercare planning.  

BEAR groups emphasize acceptance and mindfulness-based interventions that are empirically-based in the treatment of BPD. Group content is consistent with the tenets of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and frequently draws from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and other cognitive-behavioral approaches.