Medication
I myself have chosen not to go down the route of medication, although there is not an official cure for DPD, many sufferers have found some relief through the use of medication, whereas others have reported a rise in the intensity of symptoms or no change at all.
When surveying 35 randomly selected DPD sufferers from online forum dpselfhelp.com a larger amount have chosen not to take medications, and to try other alternatives for treatment.
No pharmacological treatment has been found to treat DPD indefinitely. This loophole in the medicated treatment of DPD may encourage sufferers to look into other areas of recovery, which may actually give longer lasting effects than the usual temporary relief medications might offer.
As this is not my area of expertise and I am not a medical professional, I wont be commenting on what medications I think are suitable for sufferers.
Psychological approaches in dealing with and treating DPD
Can the use of psychotherapy be successful in treating DPD?
Due the ongoing advancements in psychotherapy techniques aimed at specifically treating DPD, this may be a promising treatment, however even with the rise in exposure, there is still many medical professional who do not know how to deal with and treat DPD. This may be the reason many sufferers use self-help books from past sufferers and join online forums to share self-help techniques.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Many sufferers of DPD have reoccurring intrusive thoughts, which they may interpret as signs of madness, neurological illness or irreversible brain damage caused by drugs. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) involves changing the thinking pattern in order to change how you feel. Traditional CBT deals “underlying assumptions” and “core beliefs” that may contribute to out most difficult psychological struggles.
Elaine C. M. Hunter and colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry in London carried out a study in 2005, in which 21 sufferers of DPD were treated with the use of CBT. The treatment, which was on average 13 sessions per person, resulted in significant improvements. At the end of the therapy sessions, 30% of the sufferers no longer met the criteria for DPD.
S.Khan