Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has been developed in the USA by
Marsha M Linehan, during the last two decades. Linehan elaborated this
method for self-destructive women and in continuous cooperation with
those women in treatment throughout her research. Randomised controlled
studies have showed good results for self-destructive women with a
borderline personality disorder. This group of patients have previously
been considered largely as troublemakers who were hopeless to
treat. After these promising first results, DBT is being adapted for
other kinds of problems, such as juvenile delinquency, eating disorders,
substance abuse and dysfunctional families. This essay will consist of
two parts. The first part tries to describe the complex of problems
associated with borderline personality disorder, and the implementation
of Dialectical Behavior Therapy from a patient/therapist's
perspective. Following this is an analysis of the therapeutical change
assumed in DBT. The second part is a survey of Dialectical Behavior
Therapy in Sweden, and was done mainly by distributing questionnaires
directed at the Swedish clinics working with DBT. The survey showed a
vast diversity in terms of experience, number of patients and therapists
and co-operation with other caregivers. As DBT is a novel method of
therapy in Sweden, the survey is furthermore an interesting outline of a
new method's entry into Swedish psychiatric care. Dialektisk
beteendeterapi (DBT) är en relativt ny terapiform, utvecklad i USA för
självdestruktiva kvinnor. Metoden är utvecklad i kontinuerligt samarbete
med dessa kvinnor och ger ofta mycket bra resultat med patienter som
tidigare ofta setts som "hopplösa fall". I USA pågår arbetet med att
utveckla DBT för andra problem, som ungdomskriminalitet, ätstörningar,
missbruk, familjeproblem. Den första delen av denna uppsats består av en
beskrivning av borderline-diagnosen och av arbetet med DBT, framför allt
ur patientens och terapeutens perspektiv, samt en analys av tankarna
bakom den terapeutiska förändringen i DBT. Den andra delen är en översikt
av hur man arbetar med DBT på olika ställen i Sverige. Materialet till
denna del består av frågeformulär som de olika verksamheterna
besvarat. Undersökningen visade att det ser mycket olika ut på de olika
ställena, bland annat med avseende på an...
