Background: To live with borderline personality disorder involves a great deal of suffering and is often seen as untreatable. The complexity lies in the emotional regulation of the patient. To decrease the inner pain people with borderline personality disorder often use self-harming as a coping strategy. Dialectical behavior therapy is a treatment developed specifically to treat symptoms of borderline personality disorder and focuses on accepting and change. The care-givers often have feelings of helplessness and hopelessness which leads to pessimistic atti-tudes towards patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe experiences of dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder from a patient and caregiver perspective. Method: A literature review study based on analysis of nine qualitative articles. Results: Us-ing DBT as a treatment contributed to improved well-being. DBT was seen as a turning point for both patients and caregivers and gave a sense of hope. Even if the treatment was helpful, the patients experienced difficulties understanding the complexity of the therapy. Approaches to borderline personality disorder was changing during DBT and the caregivers experienced that they had something to offer to the patients. Conclusion: Patients experienced dialectical behavior therapy as a life-saving treatment and they felt more secure in their identity. The caregivers expressed that the support of colleagues was helpful in their professional role and to understand the patients' experiences of borderline personality disorder