At seventeen she was institutionalized for what was labeled schizophrenia, but was actually borderline personality disorder. Seeing firsthand the problems facing people with mental illness both from within the system and on the outside she formed a new type of treatment for “difficult” patients. Creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is a support oriented, cognitive based, collaborative approach to therapy Emphasizes radical acceptance- the patient is doing the best they can Teaches strategies for mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation (Psych Central 2007)

“I honestly didn’t realize at the time that I was dealing with myself,” she said. “But I suppose it’s true that I developed a therapy that provides the things I needed for so many years and never got.” “I decided to get supersuicidal people, the very worst cases, because I figured these are the most miserable people in the world — they think they’re evil, that they’re bad, bad, bad — and I understood that they weren’t,” she said. “I understood their suffering because I’d been there, in hell, with no idea how to get out.” (New York Times 2011)

es-restored-series.html#/marsha-linehan

At the micro level Professor of psychology/psychiatry at the University of Washington Author of several books At the mezzo/macro level DBT is now being used in a variety of contexts to treat not only borderline personality disorder but other particularly difficult issues including: Eating disorders Addictions Adult ADHD and Depression PTSD

“So many people have begged me to come forward, and I just thought — well, I have to do this. I owe it to them. I cannot die a coward.” “I was in hell,” she said. “And I made a vow: when I get out, I’m going to come back and get others out of here.” (New York Times 2011)

Carey, B. (2011 June 23) Expert on Mental Illness Reveals her Own Fight. New York Times. Retrieved from: 3lives.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0:// 3lives.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 Linehan, M. M. (1993) Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Psych Central. (2007). An Overview of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Psych Central. Retrieved from of-dialectical-behavior-therapy/ of-dialectical-behavior-therapy/