Recovery from borderline personality disorder in relation to the concept of “a life worth living”: a therapist perspective

Abstract Background Despite increased interest in clients’ subjective experiences of recovery from borderline personality disorder (BPD), qualitative research exploring how Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapists conceptualize recovery and its relationship to DBT’s overarching treatment goal, “a life worth living,” remains scarce. The aim of the present study was to explore DBT therapists’ descriptions of recovery sufficient for treatment termination in clients with BPD, as well as to examine its relation to the concept of a life worth living. Methods Eight semi-structured interviews with DBT therapists were conducted and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Therapists described recovery as a transition from suffering to a life of normal freedom, viewed as an individual process in which clients at treatment termination had ceased self-destructive behaviors and acquired skills, leading to changes in self-image and self-acceptance and enabling the creation of a stable and viable way of life. Therapists perceived recovery and a life worth living as mutually reinforcing processes. Conclusions The results emphasize early integration of clients’ goals and values in DBT and clarify recovery at treatment termination as a clinically sufficient foundation for a life worth living, contributing to a practice-informed operationalization of recovery within DBT. Clinical trial number Not applicable.