Suggested Questions to Ask Before Selecting a Treatment Program:

After a diagnosis of Borderline Personality has been made, there are many crucial factors to consider when evaluating potential plans of treatment. Aside from basic issues of geographic location and payment, patients and their families will want to ensure that the facility they are seeking treatment from has adequate accreditation and is staffed with appropriately trained professionals who have expertise in BPD and its related issues. In general, you should make sure that the institution is accredited by the JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations) and licensed by the state's department of health or mental health.

General Information:

1. Where is this treatment facility located?
2. Is it affiliated with any hospital, University hospital or other institution?
3. How many years has this Institution been actively treating patients with BPD?
4. Is this facility accredited by the Joint Commission and licensed by the state?

Admission Criteria and Evaluation Procedures:

5. What is the criteria for admission at this facility? Are there waiting lists?
6. Does the facility require a referral from a previous provider?
7. How does this professional/treatment center evaluate and diagnose patients for borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders? Who will evaluate the condition of the patient? (Ideally this should be done by a board certified psychiatrist.)

Treatment and Levels of Care:

8. Does this treatment center see patients on an inpatient basis, an outpatient basis, or both?
9. Is the inpatient setting (if there is one) an open setting or is it closed or both?
10. What treatment approaches in terms of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology are offered? (DBT, TFP, individual and group supportive psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, etc.)
11. What is the average length of stay for inpatients and aftercare here?
12. What sort of treatment providers and services are there for disorders that commonly co-occur with BPD (such as dieticians and nurses for eating disorders, addiction counselors for substance abuse, etc.) and are there professionally-led support groups for these conditions as well?
13. What are the support resources for patients other than psychotherapy and psychopharmacology? (patient support groups, recreational therapy, occupational therapy, vocational rehabilitation, etc.)
14. Is there a routine medical staff in place to help patients maintain or improve their physical health while undergoing BPD treatment?
15. What kinds of emergency services are in place at this facility?

Staff and Training:

16. What levels of professionals is this center staffed with (MD's, psychiatrists, PhD's, CSW's, NP's etc.) and what are their credentials, specialties and training?
17. What are the activities planned by the staff for the inpatients at this center?

Family Involvement:

18. What is the role of family members in treatment approaches of borderline personality disorder at this center? Is there an element of family involvement in the patient's treatment here?
19. Are there support resources for family and partners at this facility and if so, what are they? Is family therapy available?
20. What kind of contact does the family have with the patient's treatment staff, if any?

Aftercare Services:

21. Does this center have aftercare services in the way of partial hospitalization, a day hospital, halfway houses or supervised community residences?

Insurance/Cost of Treatment:

This aspect of finding appropriate treatment can be very stressful for families due to limits set on psychotherapy and mental health care by HMO policies and medicaid, etc.

22. How is treatment typically paid for?
23. What types of insurance plans are accepted at this center and what do they cover?