tDCS for Borderline Personality Disorder 2022

By: Jadon Webb. M.D., Ph.D.

Borderline Personality Disorder is a very common condition, and it very often gets confused with (or can co-occur with!) bipolar disorder, major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and other psychiatric conditions. 

Unfortunately, psychiatric medications often do not provide as much help for depression symptoms in people who also have borderline personality. The depression symptoms can be harder to treat with medications, which can make finding the right medication regimen an additional challenge.

Thankfully, other treatments are being developed that offer hope and promise for not only treating depression in borderline personality, but may also treat some of the core symptoms of the disorder itself.

One especially promising treatment is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This is essentially the application of very low electrical stimulation to certain parts of the brain. Because the current is so low and safe, this can be safely done in outpatient settings, even sometimes at home
A recent study showed that tDCS could improve executive functioning and control over negative emotions in clients suffering from borderline personality disorder. Other recent studies have also found positive results using tDCS. This could really be a game changer for patients who are suffering and not finding sufficient relief through standard medication approaches.

We are excited to see more upcoming research on using tDCS for borderline personality disorder, and meantime, given how safe it is, it may be worth considering now. Consider talking to your clinician about if tDCS might be right for you!

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