84. Borderline Personality Disorder & Complex Trauma: Navigating Diagnosis and Treatment

In this episode of the Therapist Thrival Guide, we are diving into the complexities of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and complex trauma (C-PTSD). We're discussing the stigma surrounding BPD, the challenges clinicians face in diagnosing and treating it, and the overlap with complex PTSD.

Kielyr Luthi, LICSW, PMH-C, R-PLC explains her approach to treatment, emphasizing trauma-informed care and discussing various therapeutic modalities such as EMDR, brain spotting, and trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT).

The conversation also covers the importance of treating symptoms over labels and the benefits of certain diagnoses. Essential listening for clinicians and anyone interested in understanding BPD and complex trauma.

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Kielyr Luthi, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C, R-PLC is a group private practice owner licensed in several states. She specializes in perinatal mental health and trauma. She is an EMDR trainer and certified in several evidence-based trauma treatment modalities. Her passions include supporting individuals overcome childhood trauma, supporting parents through new life transitions, and supporting with pregnancy and postpartum.

00:48 Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma

04:33 Symptoms and Traits of Borderline Personality Disorder

09:04 Differentiating BPD from Complex PTSD

13:05 Exploring Trauma-Focused Modalities

21:30 Challenges in Diagnosing and Treating BPD

33:26 The Importance of Accurate Diagnoses

40:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by Ellie Mental Health. We want to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of THRIVING by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW and a rotating cast of seasoned therapists. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise, clinical interests, and personal experiences of being a therapist. This podcast will be covering topics like burn-out, self of therapist, cultural considerations, client retention, session structure, advancing clinical skills, innovations in therapy, and balancing professional relationships with our personal lives. Every now and then, we'll even cover the happenings of how therapists are portrayed in pop culture. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Miranda Barker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for three years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, and case manager. She's still a bit new to the therapy game and loves soaking up all of the knowledge from the expert therapists in her life. She's the Director of Content and Production at Ellie Mental Health's in-house creative agency and believes that creativity is an important aspect of mental health care. The Therapist Thrival Guide is one of many creative productions from ⁠Ellie Mental Health⁠. Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and since then has expanded to over 24 clinics in Minnesota and an explosive number of locations nationwide after franchising our model in 2021. Ellie will be opening over 500 locations in communities nationwide with new clinics opening each week. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#therapy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#mentalhealth