What therapies are used to treat BPD?

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is the most well-evidenced treatment for BPD and focuses on building skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Schema Therapy and Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) are also effective approaches. The Talk Shop’s psychologists are experienced in delivering evidence-based BPD treatment.

Does Medicare cover BPD therapy in Melbourne?

Yes. With a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, you can access Medicare-rebated psychology sessions for BPD. The Talk Shop accepts Medicare rebates and also works with NDIS participants who have BPD-related supports in their plan.

Is BPD a lifelong condition?

No. Research consistently shows that BPD symptoms can significantly diminish or remit with appropriate psychological treatment. Many people with BPD go on to lead fulfilling lives with improved relationships and emotional stability. Early treatment and consistent therapy greatly improve outcomes.

BPD Psychologist Melbourne

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised mental health conditions — yet with the right treatment, people with BPD achieve meaningful and lasting recovery.

What Is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

BPD is a mental health condition characterised by emotional sensitivity, intense and unstable relationships, a fragile or shifting sense of self, and often impulsive or self-destructive behaviour. It develops from a combination of biological sensitivity and early invalidating or traumatic environments (Linehan, 1993).

Core features of BPD include:

Intense emotional reactions that are slow to return to baseline
Fear of abandonment — real or imagined — that drives desperate efforts to avoid rejection
Unstable and intense relationships — rapidly idealising and devaluing others
Identity disturbance — an unstable or unclear sense of self
Impulsive behaviours — spending, substance use, reckless driving, binge eating
Recurrent self-harm or suicidal behaviour or threats
Intense anger that is difficult to control
Dissociation or paranoid ideation under stress

What Life With BPD Can Feel Like

People with BPD often describe their experience as:

Feeling emotions far more intensely than others seem to
Emotions changing rapidly — from fine to devastated in minutes
“Feeling everything, then nothing”
Relationships that feel desperately important but constantly under threat
Not knowing who you ‘really’ are — feeling empty or uncertain about values, goals, or identity
Self-harm as the only thing that provides relief from overwhelming feelings

BPD affects approximately 1–2% of the general population and up to 20% of psychiatric inpatients. It is not untreatable — it is undertreated (Zanarini et al., 2010).

Why BPD Is Not Just a ‘Personality Flaw’

BPD develops from a combination of biological emotional sensitivity — a nervous system that responds more intensely and more slowly returns to baseline — and an environment that consistently invalidated emotional experience (Linehan, 1993).

This creates a person who feels deeply but has never learned to regulate those feelings effectively. Effective treatment provides exactly what was missing:

Validation of emotional experience without reinforcing problematic coping strategies
Concrete skills for tolerating distress without acting self-destructively
Emotional regulation skills to reduce the intensity and duration of emotional episodes
Interpersonal effectiveness skills for navigating relationships without abandonment fears taking over

With evidence-based treatment, the majority of people with BPD achieve remission. Longitudinal studies show 50% remission at 2 years and 85–88% at 10 years (Zanarini et al., 2010).

Evidence-Based Treatments for BPD

Our psychologists use treatments with the strongest evidence base for BPD:

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

The gold standard evidence-based treatment for BPD (Linehan et al., 2015). DBT was specifically developed for BPD by Marsha Linehan. It includes individual therapy, skills training (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness), and phone coaching. Produces significant reductions in self-harm, hospitalisation, and suicidality.

Schema Therapy

Addresses the core early maladaptive schemas — deep-seated beliefs about self and others formed in childhood — that drive BPD patterns in adult relationships. Particularly effective for the identity instability and abandonment schemas central to BPD (Giesen-Bloo et al., 2006).

Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT)

Strengthens the capacity to understand one’s own and others’ mental states — the mentalising deficit that underlies BPD’s interpersonal instability and emotional dysregulation. Originally developed as an intensive treatment, MBT is now adapted for outpatient delivery (Bateman & Fonagy, 2009).

Trauma-Informed Therapy

Many people with BPD have histories of childhood trauma, abuse, or neglect. Where this is present, addressing the underlying trauma — using EMDR or trauma-focused CBT — alongside DBT or Schema Therapy produces significantly better outcomes.

Your psychologist will assess which approach — or combination — is most appropriate for your specific presentation and history.

What BPD Treatment Looks Like at The Talk Shop

We understand that seeking help with BPD takes significant courage. Your first appointment is non-judgemental — we explore your history, current difficulties, and what you most want to change.

DBT skills training is a core part of our BPD work. You will leave each session with concrete, practical tools to use between sessions.

Treatment for BPD is typically longer-term — most people benefit from 12–24 months of consistent work. We will discuss realistic expectations and review progress regularly.

We offer appointments in-clinic at our Mooroolbark, Wheelers Hill, Reservoir, and Melbourne CBD locations, as well as Telehealth sessions from anywhere in Australia.

Funding Options — What Will You Pay?

WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.

WorkCover approved — $0 out of pocket, we bill directly
NDIS plan-managed or self-managed — $0 out of pocket, we bill directly
TAC claim approved — $0 out of pocket, we bill directly
DVA — Gold Card holders are fully covered with no session cap (clinically justified). White Card holders covered for accepted conditions, plus all current/former ADF members can access fully-funded psychology for any mental-health condition under NLMHT. GP referral required.
Medicare rebate (Mental Health Care Plan) — rebates same-day or next day
Private Health Insurance — itemised invoice provided
No funding / self-pay — affordable rates from $50 per session, no referral needed

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BPD curable?

The evidence is clear: with evidence-based treatment, the majority of people with BPD achieve remission. The symptoms that cause the most impairment — self-harm, suicidality, and severe emotional episodes — typically improve first. Longitudinal research shows 85–88% remission at 10 years (Zanarini et al., 2010).

Do I need a formal diagnosis to access BPD treatment?

No. If you relate to the description of BPD and want to work on emotional regulation, relationships, and identity — you can access treatment without a formal diagnosis. Your psychologist will assess your presentation in the first session.

Is DBT available on Medicare?

Yes. Individual DBT sessions are covered under the standard Medicare mental health item numbers with a Mental Health Care Plan. Group DBT skills training is a separate service; discuss with your psychologist.

I’ve had bad experiences with previous treatment. Can you help?

Yes. Many people with BPD have had invalidating or unhelpful experiences with mental health services. We take this seriously. Our approach is explicitly validating — your emotional responses make sense given your history.

What if I’m currently self-harming?

You do not need to have stopped self-harming to start therapy — reducing and eventually stopping self-harm is often one of the key goals of treatment. DBT was specifically designed for people who self-harm.

Ready to Build a Life Worth Living? Talk to a Melbourne BPD Psychologist.

BPD is treatable — and recovery is real. Our team understands what you’re going through and is here to help.

Book Now Contact Us

Other Conditions We Help With

Our psychologists are trained in a wide range of evidence-based approaches across many presentations. Browse our full directory of conditions and therapies we work with.

References

Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2009). Randomized controlled trial of outpatient mentalization-based treatment versus structured clinical management for borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(12), 1355–1364. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09040539

Giesen-Bloo, J., van Dyck, R., Spinhoven, P., van Tilburg, W., Dirksen, C., van Asselt, T., Kremers, I., Nadort, M., & Arntz, A. (2006). Outpatient psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(6), 649–658. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.6.649

Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press.

Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Harned, M. S., Gallop, R. J., Lungu, A., Neacsiu, A. D., McDavid, J., Comtois, K. A., & Murray-Gregory, A. M. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475–482. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3039

Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., & Fitzmaurice, G. (2010). Time to attainment of recovery from borderline personality disorder and stability of recovery: A 10-year prospective follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(6), 663–667. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09081 24