Eating Disorders

... Therapy program export treats borderline personality disorder Public release date: 29-Mar-2006 [ | E-mail Article ] Contact: Becky Soglin becky-soglin@uiowa.edu 319-335-6660 University of Iowa Therapy program export treats borderline personality disorder Trade between countries usually involves products.

However, one successful export from the United States to the Netherlands, Norway and several other countries is a cognitive therapy treatment program created by University of Iowa experts to help people with borderline personality disorder.

The treatment program, called Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem-Solving (STEPPS), augments standard treatment - medication and individualized psychotherapy - in order to give people with borderline personality disorder techniques to raise self-awareness and self-management.

People with the disorder struggle to manage intense emotions, experience frequent suicidal thoughts and can engage in self-damaging, impulsive behaviors.

Their relationships with others are often unstable because of inconsistent or intense moods.

Borderline personality disorder, characterized in the STEPPS program as emotional intensity disorder, is found all over the world at about the same prevalence rate, said Nancee Blum, social work specialist in psychiatry in the UI Roy J.

and Lucille A.

Carver College of Medicine.

Blum pioneered the treatment program along with colleagues Don St.

John, UI physician assistant in psychiatry; Norm Bartels...

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