therapists

[kaytee]

Hello,
Is there a list of suggested therapists that I can pull from?  My child has been through many therapists, none of which have been able to adequately reach them.  I know that therapy is key to helping those with BPD but I am unable to find one that is taking new patients and has the skill to help them navigate their issues, which include OCD, eating disorder, and anxiety along with the BPD diagnosis.  Thank you for any guidance.

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[SaltyDawg]

Your pediatrician should have a list.  If not, go do a nearby hospital that specializes in AN intake, they often can come up with a local list of therapists in your area.

Finding proper therapy is incredibly hard to do.

If you are in Central Maryland, I can recommend a T for eating disorders that my D12 responded well to at the time - shoot me a PM.

[kells76]

Hi kaytee, I want to join SaltyDawg in welcoming you to the site.

Your child has a lot of challenges, and as SaltyDawg says, you may be able to get your child seen sooner if you find a specialist in one area vs a broadly skilled therapist. Having been through an eating disorder program myself as a teen, I'd suspect that most ED programs know that it isn't just the ED bringing the patient there -- that there are typically "comorbid" things happening, and I'd think most ED clinics are equipped to handle at least the OCD and anxiety.

It does get trickier when there is a PD involved, as the ED clinic would likely focus on stabilizing the patient physically and then using modalities like CBT, art therapy, family therapy, talk therapy, and/or group therapy to tackle the ED itself. While this might not have a profound effect on the PD, stabilizing an ED isn't a bad thing, and can maybe clear other things away to help your child be in a better position to benefit from PD treatment.

One approach to finding a therapist is to use the psychologytoday.com "find a therapist" feature, which I believe sorts both by US state and by specialty. I think it does say whether the professional is accepting new clients.

Another approach is to contact McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, which specializes in BPD treatment, though it also advertises as treating OCD, anxiety, and ED's. If they aren't taking new patients, my hope would be that a phone call to them might at least direct you to other resources -- one of those "even though we don't have room, have you tried clinics A, B, and C yet?" situations.

Let us know what else we can support you with;

kells76