Borderline personality disorder, or BPD, shapes how a person feels emotion, sees relationships, and sees themselves, often making all three harder to steady. A BPD support group is a recurring meeting, led by a clinician or a trained peer, where people with BPD, and often the people who love them, learn skills, share what is working, and stop feeling like the only one dealing with this. Whether you were just diagnosed, have managed BPD for years, or are a parent or partner trying to understand what is happening, BPD support groups are one of the more researched, practical places to start.
Who are BPD support groups for?
People come to a BPD support group at very different points. Some got the diagnosis last month. Others have lived with it for twenty years and want what individual therapy alone could not give them: other people who get it without a long explanation.
In my work matching people to groups, I hear from three kinds most often. Newly diagnosed adults who want plain information about what BPD actually is. People managing BPD long-term who want ongoing skills practice or peer contact between sessions. And, a bigger group than most directories treat it as, family members: parents, partners, and adult children who are worn out and often blamed for a condition they did not cause. Family support for BPD is a real, distinct need. If that is you, our guide to caregiver support groups is a good place to start.
What the research says
The evidence behind borderline personality disorder support and skills groups is better than most people expect.
BPD affects about 1.4% of U.S. adults in a given year (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.), millions of people who will mostly never sit across from someone with the same diagnosis unless a group makes it possible.
Group-based DBT skills training, dialectical behavior therapy’s (DBT) skills class, has its own controlled evidence. In a three-month randomized trial, a stand-alone DBT skills group had a far lower dropout rate than a standard support group, 34.5% versus 63.4%, and improved more on depression, anxiety, irritability, and anger (Soler et al., 2009). The original DBT trials, pairing individual therapy with a weekly skills group, cut self-harm and hospitalization among people with chronic suicidality and BPD, and remain the field’s foundation (Linehan et al., 1991).
Family programs have data too. Family Connections, a free program for relatives of people with BPD, was tested against usual care in a trial of 121 family members. The conditions landed close on caregiver burden, but Family Connections showed stronger effects on burden, stress, depression, and quality of life (Guillén et al., 2024).
Peer-led groups are newer ground. A scoping review tied peer support to gains in emotion regulation and hope, though most evidence so far is qualitative (Dufour et al., 2025). One controlled trial of a peer-and-clinician co-led group found a significant drop in symptom severity against a comparison condition (Grenyer et al., 2026).
Stigma runs through this too. A review of reviews found stigma toward people with BPD among providers is persistent, and that training built around lived experience works better than lecture-style education (Galea et al., 2026). A group led by, or built with, peers is a direct answer to that stigma.
What does a BPD support group actually look like?
Most BPD support groups take one of two shapes.
A DBT skills group is the most structured version. It typically meets once a week for ninety minutes to two hours, runs through a set curriculum (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness), and is led by a clinician trained in DBT. Groups often run in cycles of about twenty-four weeks so members move through all four modules, sometimes twice. Homework and a workbook are normal. Our guide on what a DBT group is has more detail.
A peer support or general BPD group looks different: weekly or every other week, often an hour, with no fixed curriculum. People check in, talk about what is hard that week, and trade what has helped. A trained peer leader or a clinician may hold the room, but the content comes from whoever shows up.
Family groups, like Family Connections, sit in between: set sessions, real skills content, and room for grief specific to loving someone with BPD.
How do you choose the right BPD support group?
In my experience, the question I hear most is whether to start with a DBT skills group or a peer group. The honest answer depends on whether you want structure first or connection first.
If you want skills, a DBT skills group led by a clinician with real DBT training is the better fit. If you want people who understand without a long explanation, peer support may serve you better, and it usually costs less or nothing. If you are a family member, look for a program built for you, not a general caregiver group where BPD never comes up. Our guide on peer-led versus clinician-led groups walks through that decision, and DBT versus CBT helps if you are weighing individual therapy too.
Before you commit, ask who runs the group, whether enrollment is open or closed, what happens during a crisis mid-session, and what it costs. Our checklist for vetting a support group covers the red flags worth watching for.
Groups for BPD in our directory
You can search BPD groups in our directory by state, format, and whether a group meets online or in person. Some listings use the shorthand BPD; others spell out borderline personality disorder in the group name, so try both.
We are a directory, not a clinic. Group leaders write their own listings, and we do not vet, supervise, or run any group ourselves. Check who leads it, ask about their training, and see whether the format matches what you came looking for.
Other resources
- NAMI: general education on BPD, plus a helpline.
- National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder: the organization behind Family Connections, for both people with BPD and family members.
- Emotions Matter: a peer-led nonprofit built specifically around BPD, including free online peer support groups.
- If you are thinking about suicide or hurting yourself, call or text 988. Someone will pick up.
Frequently asked questions about BPD support groups
What is the difference between a BPD support group and a DBT skills group?
A DBT skills group is a specific, structured kind of BPD support group. It follows a set curriculum, mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, led by a clinician trained in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). A general BPD support group is looser: peer-led, unstructured, built around sharing rather than teaching a skill set. Some people use both, a DBT group for structure and a peer group for connection. Ask which kind a group is.
Do you need a diagnosis to join a BPD support group?
Not always. Some groups ask for a formal BPD diagnosis, usually because the curriculum assumes it. Others are open to anyone who suspects they have BPD or has overlapping traits without a full diagnosis. Family groups only require a relationship to someone with the diagnosis. A short email to the group leader will tell you whether intake requires paperwork, a referral, or nothing more than your interest.
Can family members or partners join a BPD support group?
Yes, and a growing number of groups exist specifically for them. Family Connections is the best-studied program built for relatives of people with BPD, covering skills like validation and setting limits, alongside room to process grief specific to this diagnosis. Some general BPD groups also welcome family members as observers, though a dedicated family group usually goes deeper. Look for a program built around family support for BPD, not a general caregiver group that never mentions it.
How much does a BPD support group cost?
It depends on who runs it. Peer-led groups, including ones run by nonprofits like Emotions Matter, are often free. Clinician-led DBT skills groups typically charge a per-session fee, and some accept insurance while others do not. Our guide to group therapy cost breaks down what to expect. Ask about cost and insurance before your first session.
Are online BPD support groups as helpful as in-person ones?
For many people, yes. Online groups remove travel time and can be the only realistic option without a local DBT provider or peer program nearby. What matters more than format is structure and leadership: a well-run online group can offer the same skills and the same sense of not being the only one dealing with this as an in-person group does. Some people still prefer meeting in a room, especially for a family program with heavier content. Try a session or two of each, and trust whichever one you keep showing up for.
References
- Dufour, A.-S., Nadeau, L., & Cailhol, L. (2025). Is peer support beneficial for individuals with borderline personality disorder? Exploring its potential and challenges: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, Article 1663685. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1663685
- Galea, R., Rodgers, A., Wahid, R., & Buck-McFadyen, E. (2026). Stigma and borderline personality disorder: An umbrella scoping review of existing reviews. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 35(3), Article e70278. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.70278
- Grenyer, B. F. S., Lucas, S., Barr, K. R., Finch, A., Denmeade, G., & Day, N. J. S. (2026). A randomized controlled trial of a peer and clinician led group program for borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy Research, 36(3), 443–454. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2498430
- Guillén, V., Fernández-Felipe, I., Marco, J. H., Grau, A., Botella, C., & García-Palacios, A. (2024). “Family Connections,” a program for relatives of people with borderline personality disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Family Process, 63(4), 2195–2214. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.13089
- Linehan, M. M., Armstrong, H. E., Suarez, A., Allmon, D., & Heard, H. L. (1991). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of chronically parasuicidal borderline patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48(12), 1060–1064. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810360024003
- National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Personality disorders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/personality-disorders
- Soler, J., Pascual, J. C., Tiana, T., Cebrià, A., Barrachina, J., Campins, M. J., Gich, I., Alvarez, E., & Pérez, V. (2009). Dialectical behaviour therapy skills training compared to standard group therapy in borderline personality disorder: A 3-month randomised controlled clinical trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(5), 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.013
The Group Guide is a directory. Group leaders write their own listings, and we do not vet, supervise, or endorse the groups listed here. We are not a clinic and we do not provide clinical services or guarantee outcomes. That is the group’s work, not ours. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.