The DBT Workbook to Stop Walking on Eggshells: Practical Skills for Families to Improve Relationships and Decrease Conflict When a Family Member Has BPD

Evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills for surviving and thriving when a family member has BPD.

If you have a family member who struggles with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you’re probably familiar with the concept of walking on eggshells. Your loved one may experience intense emotions that are difficult to predict, leaving you feeling stressed, drained, and on edge. So, how can you support your loved one while also taking care of and protecting yourself?

From a leading DBT expert and the author of Stop Walking on Eggshells—which has helped nearly a million people successfully navigate their relationships with BPD sufferers—this workbook harnesses the power of DBT, the gold standard for treating BPD. You’ll learn to better understand and empathize with your loved one’s internal experiences and symptoms, and discover strategies to help you manage your own emotions and stay calm in stressful or upsetting situations. You’ll also discover tools for improving communication, tips for boosting self-compassion, and skills for setting healthy boundaries with your loved one.

If you’re ready to stop walking on eggshells and start minimizing conflict, connecting with empathy, and making sure your own needs are met, this workbook can help you get started—step by step.

Corrine Stoewsand, PhD, coaches families on how to manage their relationships and communicate more effectively with loved ones who have symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). She has been leading dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and mindfulness workshops for families and psychologists internationally since 2006. Stoewsand has had intensive training in DBT from Behavioral Tech Institute, and advanced DBT training from Marsha Linehan. She served as a founding member of Fundación Foro, Buenos Aires, Argentina—the largest and most active DBT team in South America—and then created www.dbtcoach.com to provide online educational programs for families worldwide.

Randi Kreger has brought the concerns of family members who have a loved one with BPD to an international forefront through her website, www.bpdcentral.com, and the Welcome to Oz online support community. Through Eggshells Press, she offers family members a wide variety of specialized booklets and other materials. She was also instrumental in the formation of the Personality Disorders Awareness Network (PDAN), a nonprofit organization. Kreger is author of Stop Walking on Eggshells, The Stop Walking on Eggshells Workbook, and The Essential Family Member Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder, among others. She speaks and gives workshops about BPD internationally.

Carola Pechon is a licensed clinical psychologist in Bariloche, Argentina. She is founder and director of Tandem Asistencia y Formación en Psicoterapia. She is currently a DBT mentor at Behavioral Tech Institute. Pechon has been training mental health professionals in DBT in South America since 2012, and leads a clinical team of psychologists treating children, adolescents, and adults. Learn more at www.tandempsicoterapia.com.ar.

Foreword writer Anthony P. DuBose, PsyD, has trained healthcare providers worldwide in the treatment of BPD, substance use disorders, and suicidal and self-injurious behaviors. He is a member of the International Dissemination Committee and the Training Committee of the World Dialectical Behavior Therapy Association (WDBTA), and serves on the WDBTA transitional board of directors as its treasurer.