"the key is balance" (flickr: peacock balancing on a chair- by fishflix- Jeanette Lowe)


you know how its the quite interesting phenomenon how when reads the DSM-IV that one tends to automatically think "oh no, I have this psychiatric disorder! and this one! and this one! or maybe this one!"

well anyway, I've always had this bizarre but unsubstantiated suspicion that maybe 5% of me has Borderline Personality Disorder. Or at least when I read about it and its emotional lability, as well as inability to integrate polarities, I can relate to a certain degree.
So today I discovered Marsha Linehan and her "Dialectical Behavioral Therapy" which was specifically designed to treat individuals with BPD. In many ways similar to Cognitive Behavorial Therapy (a form of therapy I am very familiar with), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy" also integrates the Buddhist concept of mindfulness and the ancient-Greek derived (though also found in Hindu and Buddhist thought) concept of Dialectics.
I realized I didn't know very much about Dialectics and what they were.

Here is an interesting paragraph on the origin of Dialectics and how, in a way, it is applied in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy:

The term 'dialectical' is derived from classical philosophy. It refers to a form of argument in which an assertion is first made about a particular issue (the 'thesis'), the opposing position is then formulated (the 'antithesis' ) and finally a 'synthesis' is sought between the two extremes, embodying the valuable features of each position and resolving any contradictions between the two. This synthesis then acts as the thesis for the next cycle. In this way truth is seen as a process which develops over time in transactions between people. From this perspective there can be no statement representing absolute truth. Truth is approached as the middle way between extremes.

The dialectical approach to understanding and treatment of human problems is therefore non-dogmatic, open and has a systemic and transactional orientation. The dialectical viewpoint underlies the entire structure of therapy, the key dialectic being 'acceptance' on the one hand and 'change' on the other. Thus DBT includes specific techniques of acceptance and validation designed to counter the self-invalidation of the patient. These are balanced by techniques of problem solving to help her learn more adaptive ways of dealing with her difficulties and acquire the skills to do so. Dialectical strategies underlie all aspects of treatment to counter the extreme and rigid thinking encountered in these patients. The dialectical world view is apparent in the three pairs of 'dialectical dilemmas' already described, in the goals of therapy and in the attitudes and communication styles of the therapist which are to be described.The therapy is behavioural in that, without ignoring the past, it focuses on present behaviour and the current factors which are controlling that behaviour.

(source: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=1020)

I think regardless of mental health diagnoses, as humans we all tend to struggle with polarities, discrepancies in thought, dichotomies in feelings and concepts. According to famous BPD theoriest Otto Kernberg (who a friend of mine had the pleasure of meeting) there are two chief tasks in early childhood one must achieve to be functional adults. The first is differentiating oneself from the world and others. (psychic clarification of self and other)

The second is to "overcome splitting". This task requires one to be able to realize that not all things are put into black and white categories, such as "good" or "bad", "nice" or "mean", "red" or "blue" etc. For example, someone can see oneself as being both good and bad at the same. This task of "overcoming splitting" is the stage which Kernberg theorizes those with BPD never were able to fully acheive. In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Linehan uses this system of dialectics to approach the cognitive distortions and "splitting" of life into black and white categories and aids one in reaching a more nuanced, holistic and integrated perception of oneself, one's experiences, and the world around oneself. Avoiding either extreme, it brings to mind the Buddhist concept of the "middle path".

Or as a friend of mine likes to say, "the key is balance".