QUESTION:

Dear Dr. Heller,

I live in Seattle, Washington. My 17 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder at the University of Washington. I am very interested in your approach to treatment. My question is whether you know of anyone in the Washington area that follows your ideas? If not, I would be happy to travel to Florida with my daughter to get her the help she needs. Can you help us?

ANSWER:

Dr. Marsha Linehan’s group may be able to recommend you to someone. The How I treat the BPD and why section may be of help. Often Family Practitioners are interested in helping, and the information on my Website should be of assistance. Perhaps contacting some of the area Family Practice residency programs and asking if they know of any graduates who are particularly interested in mental health issues.

Everything I recommend is in the literature, so it’s a question of finding a concerned physician willing to look at the literature and the logic behind what I’ve written. There are 1600 studies published every day, no one can keep up with them all.

If you have no success I will be happy to see her. I actually have a few patients from Washington state, although clearly it’s a very long way to travel. If you wish to do this option, please review the If you wish to visit Dr. Heller section. The screening test will be of great importance as well.