Lived Experience Forum

[amber22]

On Tuesday 26th September, we’d like to invite you to join us for a discussion centered around Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) ahead of BPD Awareness Week on 1-7 October 2023. In this discussion, we will be joined by one of our Community Guides and a Special Guest from Spectrum (Specialising in Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma) to talk about the principles of care, the different treatments, stigma, & the therapeutic relationship. BPD Awareness Week is coordinated by the Australian BPD Foundation.

 

The event start times across Australia are below:

WA: 2:30pm 
NT: 4:00pm

SA: 5:00pm 

QLD: 4:30pm

NSW, ACT, VIC & TAS: 5:30pm 

Want to receive a reminder on the night? Hit the 'Support' button below and we will tag you 30 minutes before the event starts. 

New to the forums or want to get involved in this discussion? Check out the How To Guide for Topic Tuesdays.

Hope to see you there in the chat on the night!

[TideisTurning]

Hey everyone!   

The discussion will be kicking off in 5 minutes on this thread! To come along please refresh this page at 5:30pm and join the conversation.  

In this discussion we will be talking about:   

• The principles of care 
• Different treatments 
• Stigma surrounding BPD 
• Therapeutic relationships 

We can’t wait to see you there at 5:30pm!   

Tagging those that have interacted with the post/ or that are online right now and might like to join the discussion: @Sarahmae @Ella1996 @Isla1 @round_the_twist @_PixieSolstice_ @missmay @Barrie @Jhylene8819 @Shaz51 @Valiant83 @Horacette @Tranquil_Atoms @ADHDCPTSDBPD @Lost_and_found @MissLil @Ilovepenguins @BPD_Cat @Nate1 @Appleblossom @Bill16 @ClockFace @Dimity @tyme @Jlol @Kyle1 @Meowmy @StuF @TAB @The-red-centaur @chibam @rosf @tinydancer_ 

[amber22]

Welcome to everyone joining us or reading along tonight! Firstly, we would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the various different lands across Australia that we are joining this discussion from tonight. We pay respect to the elders of those communities (past and present) and further extend that respect to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people with us tonight or reading back through the thread.  

Tonight, we are joined with special guests @BPDSurvivor  and @Alex_Spectrum from Spectrum to talk about the principles of care, the different treatments, stigma, & the therapeutic relationship. BPD Awareness Week is coordinated by the Australian BPD Foundation. 

To get us started, I invite both of our special guests to introduce themselves to the forum's community. We would also love to hear from members of the community joining us tonight about what has brought you here tonight, and what you’re hoping to get out of the discussion. Everyone is welcome here & thank you for joining us! 😊 

[BPDSurvivor]

Hi, I'm BPDSurvivor - a Community Guide on the SANE forums. I have lived/living experience of borderline personality disorder. Despite my journey having been quite tumultuous, I can look back and really celebrate the wins and what worked for me.

I look forward to chatting with you all tonight and share my experiences of living with BPD. Please feel free to ask any BPD-related questions, and I'll do my best to answer them from a lived experience point of view.

[Alex_Spectrum]

Hi, I’m Alex, I’m a Clinical Psychologist and I work at Spectrum the personality disorders service for Victoria. Among other things, I am a part of the MBT treatment team at Spectrum and I am involved in both group and individual therapy.

Really looking forward to chatting tonight and answering any questions you may have about anything related to BPD!

[BPDSurvivor]

@rye @Faith-and-Hope @Sweetpea2020 @Little_Leopard @tyme @Horacette @encee @Coffeelover82 @L12 @Needhope @BlueBay @EternalFlower 

Tagging you also to our Topic Tuesday as part of BPD Awareness Week 🙂 It is on now.

[amber22]

Time to start with our first question of the night! 

@Alex_Spectrum - BPD awareness have developed a set of principles of care. From a clinician perspective why are these so important?” 
 

@BPDSurvivor - How might these principles of care contribute to being the difference? 

Feel free to ask our special guests any other questions too 🙂 

[Alex_Spectrum]

Great question. I really like the principles of care as described on the BPD Awareness Week website. They provide a great framework for understanding how we might aim to work with someone with a diagnosis of BPD, specifically:

Collaborative Therapeutic Relationship

Research suggests that the therapeutic relationship is one of the key factors in the success of therapy. In my mind it is essential that this relationship is collaborative. It should feel like the client and clinician are working together to understand the client’s issues and to develop a clear treatment plan. Clinicians may have some expert knowledge around general treatment principles but each individual is the expert on themselves. Ideally therapy should be using the expertise of both people to help identify how best to support the client. In some cases what the clinician thinks is best and what the client wants can be different and it’s important to collaborate to be on the same page around this.

Trauma-Sensitive Care

When working with people with a diagnosis of BPD it is very important to be aware of an individual's experience of trauma and to work with them in a trauma sensitive way. This includes providing empathy and understanding around their experiences, taking the person seriously and providing a non-judgemental space. This doesn’t mean necessarily focusing on discussing trauma or expecting that clients do so but rather being aware of trauma and how this may impact on a person.

Working with Family/Friends/Supporters

Wherever possible we want to be able to involve family/friends/supporters in a client’s treatment. As treatment only occurs 1-2 times per week it is so important to build a network of supports outside of the treatment space. Some of the most valuable sessions I have been involved with have included a parent/friend/partner and being able to have these perspectives can be very powerful.

We also realise that this can be very challenging for some people. And in some cases people do not feel like they have supporters. We would only encourage this if people feel those around them can be supportive and helpful.

Recovery (Wellbeing) Focus

This is key because often the message that people get is that BPD is lifelong or not treatable. This is most certainly not the case and treatment for BPD will focus on moving towards recovery goals. It’s also important to remember that recovery will look different for each person and that identifying what recovery may look like is a collaborative process.

Balance Validation with Change

I really like this principle and think it’s so helpful for those seeking treatment as well as family/friends/supporters to understand this. Ideally your clinician should be attempting to balance empathy, understanding and listening while also helping to consider how things could be different. If there is only validation sometimes therapy can feel like it isn’t moving towards recovery. If there is too much push for change it can feel like the clinician is not understanding. Knowing this principle can help open up conversations with your clinician about how the work is going and if the balance is right.

Use a Structured Treatment Framework

This is another key principle common to all therapies. This helps to provide a clear organisation for therapy and an understanding of what is expected of the clinician and of the client. This can include items such as creating a collaborative treatment plan, a regular time for sessions and limits for what is offered in therapy.

[BPDSurvivor]

As someone with BPD, those who truly aligned their work to the Principles of Care, made a huge impact on my life. It was the difference between ‘make or break’.

Those who saw me as ‘Oh, another borderline. They are just looking for attention. Let them go’ were ones who broke me. The comments made me feel worthless and a waste of space.

However, there were also those who saw me as more than the sum of my diagnosis. I wasn’t just another ‘BPD case’ to them.

Collaborative Therapeutic Relationship

The collaborative therapeutic relationships developed in my recovery were invaluable in making me who I am today. The key words being ‘collaborative’ and ‘therapeutic’ – I didn’t want to repeat myself over and over again to every therapist I saw.

Trauma-sensitive Care

When I was in distress, the trauma-sensitive care principle meant I was met with compassion, empathy and respect. This aided my recovery in that it gave me a reason to continue.

Working with Family/Friends/Supporters

I didn’t have many people around me when I was acutely unwell. I’d pushed people away and lived in isolation. I didn’t think this principle of working with family/friends/supporters applied to me, but in actual fact, my whole treating team ended up being my supporter and advocate. The system worked together as a whole so that I received the treatment I needed, and at a time I needed it most. Providing ongoing supports I could access has meant the continuity of care and support throughout my recovery.

Recovery (Wellbeing) Focus

For me, I learnt that recovery was not about the absence of symptoms or the need to always be happy, but rather, that I could live a rich and fulfilling life. Treatment allowed me to work with what was important in my life. It gave me agency and empowered me to make a difference – to BE the DIFFERENCE I wanted to be.

Use a Structured Treatment Framework

As a borderline, my life was in turmoil. It was messy from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. This principle of having a structured treatment framework added stability to my life. It gave me boundaries to keep me ‘safe’. I helped me develop a therapeutic relationship with my key clinician which was built on trust, openness and boundaries. The relationships developed during my recovery were seen, in my eyes, as the relationships I’d develop in the real world. Hence, treatment was a ‘training ground’ for the wider world.

All up? I’m here today to tell my story because of the care I received. Care that was founded on these BPD Core Principles of Care. It wasn’t care to make me dependent on people or the system – but rather, care to empower me to see the change that was needed to not only survive, but thrive in the world.

@rye @Faith-and-Hope @Sweetpea2020 @Little_Leopard @tyme @Horacette @encee @Coffeelover82 @L12 @Needhope @BlueBay @EternalFlower @NatureLover @MissLil @Shaz51 @Faith-and-Hope @Laura4 @Captain24 @Bow 

[TideisTurning]

To summarise for everyone, the BPD core principles of care are:

• collaborative therapeutic relationship
• trauma sensitive care working with family/ friends/ supporters
• recovery (well-being) focus
• balance validation with change
• use a structured framework