Hi, jellibeans I am no expert, but my dBPDs36 has been doing Neurofeedback T since 4/18th. He started out about 3-4 times/week (some 2 hour sessions when testing was involved, and mostly 1 to 1.5 hour sessions depending on wake-state NF or deep-state NF), and now is going 4-5 times/week. The reason his T is so intensive (he also sees an Outpatient T once/week and a Psych once/month) is because of his many DXs: ADD/Clinical Depression/Social Anxiety/Hyperactive Thyroid, with past Substance Abuse & Suicidal Ideation issues. The BPD DX was just made last month, in early April. His NF T says that with all these DXs, along with SA issues, if he is able to go to NFT often and many days in a row, it will help keep him from obsessing about self-medicating. Since he is
fascinated with this new T added to his recovery process, she is right. He has no interest in illegal drugs at this time (he's on prescribed medications for his DXs), and the routine of going to the NFT is like his job/social life right now
My son had been in and out of 2 standard rehabs in the last 3 years, and each time his mental health issues that were already DXed (all had been, but BPD) were not addressed, and he relapsed back into self-medicating within 6-12 months. This past February he had a meltdown while his Dad and I were on vacation for 2 weeks, and he ended up in the psych ward of our local hospital for contemplating suicide. He was in the hospital the night we arrived back from vacation (!) and when they let him out the next day in my custody, the deal he made with the hospital, myself and his OP T was that he would agree to check himself into a Dual Diagnosis Program at a Regional Medical Center that I've been wanting him to go to for the last 17 years when his troubles began. That place was a life saver for him: 21 day Inpatient program with intensive Psychiatric and Psychological sessions--individual and group--every single day. They gave him the BPD DX, and then gave him a library of books to read that he devoured while there
With his discharge papers, they gave him a list of books to get, which we did on the way home and he started reading them right in the car during the 3 hour trip home from Barnes & Noble. He's been reading the books ever since, non-stop. Also with the discharge papers was info for Families of pwBPD, including the webaddress to this site. Once here, I learned everything I needed to start communicating with him correctly so that we could move him on to beginning recovery (so that he didn't balk at my helpful suggestions ). After reading lbjnltx's story about her daughter's RTC stay, and the mention she made about her daughter having NFT, I found a woman who is certified in my area to do it for my son. Luckily for us, she is only 15 minutes from our home (!), so his intensive sessions so many days per week is not a hardship.
I believe he is doing so well because of many things: He is
low functioning BPD and realizes that he needs the help to live a good life, and the DX was not a burden for him but a
Godsend because it filled in the blank for him as to why other treatments for his SA issues, etc. did not work. Right now he does not have job to go to, so he really does see his recovery as his job for the near future. He really hit his bottom in February, and things had spiraled so far out of his control that he was ready for recovery finally. He lives at home, and though my H and I aren't well off or anything, the NF T is local, and is giving us a discount for signing up for 22 sessions at a time. Right now, he completed his first block of 22 last week, and we paid for and continued with the starting of the 2nd 22 sessions.
My H & I are committed to his recovery as long as he is, and don't mind the financial outlay as long as we are seeing progress. And, there
IS progress... . My son is now back to acting like the guy he was 17 long years ago, before his DXs and their fallout turned him into a stranger to us. If this T can make it possible for him to work again and support himself and have happier life, it will all be worth it. And though I've been dreaming of that, I didn't dare to
hope for it because of the possibility of disappointment. Now, the hope is there
P.S. I'm sorry to have written a novel here... . I'm just so happy with my son's progress, and so thankful to this website for all the help it has given me, that I just need to share so much of this happiness
