Treatment
What do I mean by treatment?
Most of my focus during the crisis years was on finding the best treatment for my loved ones. In the end, only one treatment really stood out for them, and that was dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). But there's a big caveat. It only helped once my daughters were invested in their recovery.
However, this page is focused on treatment not covered on the other resource pages that helped me. Besides selfcare and education, therapy was my primary source of treatment. To have a professional view on what was happening was invaluable:
- When my family was first admitted to psychiatric units, it was my therapist who helped me cope with what seemed like an endless stream of crises. He guided me to see the bigger picture and to start disentangling myself from the family dysfunction.
- My daughters' therapists guided me through their many diagnoses and how to interact with them in a healthier way. They introduced me to validation and boundary setting.
- An addictions counselor helped me climb out of my bottom, understand codependency, stop enabling my family, and accept them for who they are.
- A life coach helped me realize I had PTSD and introduced me to EMDR therapy.
- An EMDR therapist helped me heal from my PTSD.
Therapy
Although I didn't personally make use of DBT, I've since learned that many elements target families of loved ones with borderline personality disorder
PTSD
My recovery was full of surprises, but none more shocking than when I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Therapy
My therapist recommended EMDR therapy to treat my PTSD. I thought it sounded crazy, but I was so desperate, I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did!
