Narcissism & Borderline Personality Disorder Explained: Why DBT Works When Psychodynamic Therapy Doesn’t, with Dr. Suzanne Wallach

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month — and while we’ve covered emotional and mental wellbeing a lot on the podcast, we’ve never explored complex mental health disorders and how to navigate them. Our culture talks endlessly about therapy, but I don’t see enough conversations about how to help those struggling with severe mental illness. Because it doesn’t always look like venting to your therapist and unpacking childhood trauma. For many people, the issue isn’t a lack of self-awareness or needing to dive deeper into their feelings. It’s a lack of tools to manage what’s happening in real time. So, whether you’re struggling with a mental health condition, or this is impacting someone you care about, we’re deepening our understanding of personality disorders like Narcissism and Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and the tools that can help people who are really struggling. With the help of Dr. Suzanne Wallach, we explore how approaches like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can shift the focus from why you feel this way to what you do when you feel this way so you have concrete skills, like emotional regulation and distress tolerance — even when you’re triggered. Dr. Wallach is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Doctorate in Psychology. She’s a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy expert who works with personality disorders like Borderline, substance abuse and addiction, eating disorders, and complex trauma. She’s been on podcasts like Call Her Daddy, and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to treating complex conditions with compassion and skills-based techniques. Tune in to learn: The truth about Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the trauma that leads to it Signs you might be dating a narcissist Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder How to be in relationship with people who have personality disorders The difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Bipolar Disorder When medication is needed, and the different modalities that can help How Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers real-world tools for people with mental disorders Why sequencing and developing distress tolerance in therapy matters more than most people realize When to do psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy VS behavioural techniques The difference between between DBT, CBT, and MCT If you’ve ever felt like talk therapy made you more self-aware but didn’t actually change your destructive patterns or improve a mental disorder, this episode might help with a new approach. Wherever you are in your mental health journey, know that you are not alone, and there’s life-changing help available. Connect with Dr. Suzanne Wallach:https://suzannewallach.com/  https://www.instagram.com/drsuzannewallach/  For advertising and sponsorship inquiries, please contact Frequency Podcast Network. Subscribe to my Substack:teachmehowtoadult.substack.comFollow us on the ‘gram:@[email protected] on TikTok: @teachmehowtoadultSubscribe on YouTube