Assertive Community Treatment and the Shift Towards Dialectical Behavior Therapy: As Valuable for Practitioners as for Clients?

Abstract

Not until recently have individuals with severe mental illnesses sought treatment outside the traditional means of inpatient wards and psychiatric hospitals. Fortunately, the expanse of resources now available encompasses a more comprehensive, client-centered approach, emphasizing community-based treatment and outpatient services. In light of its growing availability, this study focused specifically on local Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services, and the practitioners involved in delivering therapy to individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a growing chronic mental illness affecting an estimated 6 million U.S. citizens. While numerous studies review current treatment methods from the clients’ perspective, rarely are the therapists themselves the center of question, specifically in regards to therapeutic approach. It is our aim, therefore, to highlight the contrasts between ACT practitioners’ approaches towards serving clients with BPD.