BPD and PTSD Treatment Innovator Kicks Off Training Clinics at McLean

Martin Bohus, MD, an internationally recognized leader in the study and treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), recently presented clinical training sessions, a webinar, and a lecture at McLean Hospital. Through the clinical training sessions, Bohus, currently a visiting professor at McLean, provided guidance on his modification of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for BPD and complex PTSD to McLean clinicians, marking the first time he has taught his innovative evidence-based treatment approach in the U.S.

According to Lois W. Choi-Kain, MEd, MD, director of the McLean Borderline Personality Disorder Training Institute, Bohus is “a major treatment innovator in the world of BPD and PTSD and a leading scientist in the study of these disorders.” Based in Germany, Bohus is chair in Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim. His current research efforts are focused on psychopathology and treatment development of affective dysregulation in BPD.

For last week’s “Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” webinar at McLean, Bohus discussed DBT for PTSD—the evidence-based treatment he developed to address the condition. During Grand Rounds the following day, Bohus presented the talk “How to Treat the Sequelae of Sexual Abuse in Adults?—Evaluation of DBT-PTSD Under Outpatient Conditions.”

Also last week, Bohus began training a new team of clinicians from the Hill Center for Women, the LEADER program, 3East, the Gunderson Residence, and the Gunderson Outpatient Program on his treatment methods for BPD and PTSD. Clinicians in these sessions began working with Bohus to provide an insurance-based option for the treatment of complex PTSD. Patients in this new clinic will be part of a research project lead by Kerry J, Ressler, MD, PhD, Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD, and Lauren A. M. Lebois, PhD.

Choi-Kain described Bohus’s treatment approach as “groundbreaking.” She explained that there has long been a difference in the way that BPD and PTSD are treated. Bohus, however, has merged these two protocols, and the results, according to Choi-Kain, “have been impressive for both BPD and PTSD patients.”

Bohus began his year-long visiting professorship at McLean in December 2017. His training sessions on DBT for PTSD are part of the Borderline Personality Disorder Training Institute’s efforts to train clinicians in evidence-based treatments for BPD, other severe personality disorders, and their coexisting symptoms and diagnoses. The institute also offers training in mentalization-based treatment and dialectical behavior therapy.