Powerful skills to help you cultivate unshakable self-respect, self-love, self-compassion, and self-worth.
If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you likely struggle with unstable relationships, or live with a constant fear that you'll be abandoned. You may experience unexpected mood swings, explosive anger, or intense emotions. And to make matters worse, you may have feelings of shame, guilt, or low self-esteem as a result of your diagnosis. You aren't alone, and there are skills you can learn to manage your symptoms and cultivate unwavering self-compassion and self-forgiveness. This workbook can help you get started.
Grounded in powerful and proven-effective dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and self-compassion, this step-by-step workbook offers evidence-based strategies to manage intense emotions and cultivate the self-acceptance needed to thrive. Using the core skills of DBT--mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation--you'll learn to work through difficult thoughts, stay grounded in the present moment, and improve your relationships with others. You'll also find self-compassion exercises to help you heal the stigma, shame, and feelings of unworthiness associated with BPD.
More and more, studies show there is a powerful link between self-compassion and emotional health. This workbook will show you how to forgive and love yourself, and build the skills needed to live a vital, fulfilling life.
About the Author :
Amanda L. Smith, LCSW, started out her career in mental health by serving as executive director of the Pinellas County, FL, affiliate of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). In 2007, she founded the Florida Borderline Personality Disorder Association--a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing advocacy, education, and support for people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their families. As a licensed clinical social worker, she provides comprehensive dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) services through her office in Waco, TX. She is also interested in evidence-based treatments like mentalization-based treatment and logotherapy. While she primarily works with individuals diagnosed with personality disorders, she is happy to meet with anyone who is open to finding more meaning and purpose in their life. You can reach her through her web site at www.hopeforbpd.com.
Review :
The Self-Compassion Workbook for BPD by Amanda Smith is a thoughtful and practical guide for those struggling with borderline personality disorder (BPD). With warmth and insight, Smith tackles the deeply painful experience of self-hatred--a life-changing focus for healing. This workbook offers tools for self-understanding and emotional balance, and can be used alongside dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and other therapies to support meaningful, lasting change."
--Karyn Hall, PhD, founder of the Houston DBT Center, certified DBT clinician, coauthor of The Power of Validation and The RO DBT Workbook for Eating Disorders, and author of The Emotionally Sensitive Person
--Karyn Hall, PhD
"A much-needed, first-of-its-kind resource for those with BPD seeking to find compassion from within. Grounded in the practice and science of self-compassion, this workbook offers simple yet powerful reflections and guidance to strengthen your self-kindness and support your BPD recovery."
--Dylan Zambrano, MSW, founder of DBT Virtual, and author of The DBT Skills Daily Journal
--Dylan Zambrano, MSW
"Deeply empathic, and illuminated by her extensive experience working with BPD, DBT, and self-compassion, Amanda Smith expertly guides us in recognizing and responding to each moment of suffering as an opportunity to embrace our pain with gentleness and love. Self-compassion is the most powerful means of healing, and Amanda shares these clear, accessible, and powerful practices with the same qualities she helps us nurture within ourselves."
--Kiera Van Gelder, MFA, author of The Buddha and the Borderline
--Kiera Van Gelder, MFA
"It's hard to picture a friend, family member, or client who couldn't benefit from Amanda's guide on self-compassion. Amanda has given us something we all need: a resource that outlines the steps and strategies to loving and supporting our very human and imperfect selves well. For those experiencing life's ups and downs, this will be a resource to cling to and return to again and again for support."
--Ashton Fisher Jimenez, MS, LPC-S, owner and relationship therapist at Becoming Counseling & Clinical Supervision, board-approved licensed professional counselor supervisor in Texas, and certified eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapist
--Ashton Fisher Jimenez, MS, LPC-S
"Reading this felt like sitting with a kind, knowledgeable therapist who truly gets it. Amanda does an incredible job making DBT and self-compassion feel approachable and real for folks with BPD. I will definitely be recommending this to clients who are working on healing their relationship with themselves."
--Krisanna Valencia, LMSW, therapist
--Krisanna Valencia, LMSW
"This practical and readable workbook is an achievement of thoughtful integration of the science and practice of self-compassion with those of DBT. Self-compassion is just the right medicine to help people with BPD transform internalized invalidation for a kinder, more integrated relationship with themselves."
--Scott Spradlin, LPC, LMAC, author of Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your Life, and codirector of Wichita DBT at NorthStar Therapy
--Scott Spradlin, LPC, LMAC
