Abstract
According to Marsha M. Linehan, Dialetic Behavioural Psychotherapy (DBT) is a very specific way of treating patients suffering from a borderline personality disorder using a multimodal model combining techniques of various psychotherapeutic schools.
In follow up studies (Archives of General Psychiatry 1991, 1993) Marsha M. Linehan showed that using this model of group psychotherapy leads to a reduction of self-injuring (parasuicidal gestures, drug and substance abuse, eating disorders) and internal stress as well as to an improvement in the quality of life.
At the Department of Psychiatry of the University Hospital in Graz, a modified form of Marsha M. Linehan's concept is used in the treatment of bulimic patients.
Bulimic women show feelings of inner tension, very similar to the feelings of tension arising in borderline-patients, and a feeling of release as soon as they make the decision to vomit.
In Graz, we use a combination of skills training in groups (in order to achieve a reduction of bingeing and purging attacks) and individual psychotherapy (psychotherapists of different school who work in private practice). Information is shared regularly between psychotherapists and skills trainers through intervision groups (Advanced Linehan-concept, Braga 1999).