Some truth to the cushy / easy patient parts... however, to be fair, to the therapists definitely prior to 00 and probably slightly after there was no treatment that proved successful. We were basically more difficult then what we worth. More or less throwaway patients. There's no hope for us so why treat us.
I was diagnosed in 93, and all I was told is it's a personality disorder and I see things in black / white (concrete terms) which is true. That was the extent of it. I had never even heard of it back then. There were no computers. It was a topic of conversation that the doctors tried to avoid with me.
There is dbt (dialectical behavior therapy), schema therapy, mbt (mentalization based therapy) all have shown promise. The only program that I have ever been able to find is dbt, which is on average a year long. They're intense program because it attempts to work at changing behaviors which is not easy for the patient because we endure a lot of distress in the process, because we're fighting the urge to react in a way that is natural with us. A lot of dbt programs require the patient to see a dbt therapist 4x month, a weekly group meeting to go over homework (yes there is homework), and many will have a number to call when in need and skills aren't working. An individual therapist set up in a private practice for the most part doesn't have the resources to invest in this kind of treatment. The best course of action is to find a dbt program, complete that, and then find a therapist that has some knowledge of dbt. I've had success with it in some areas and then in other areas I haven't really had any. I think though anyone that takes the program will benefit in someway. I should also mention it's EXPENSIVE just the group meetings alone cost $200.00/month..