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SPECTRUM ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2024 – Registrations Now Open!

Beyond specialisation: Exploring generalist treatment approaches for people with personality disorder and complex trauma

In-Person or Online, Thursday 21st March 2024
9.00 AM TO 4.30 PM AEDT

Spectrum Annual Conference 2024 Program (PDF,198KB)

Spectrum Annual Conference 2024 Flyer (PDF,201KB)

Spectrum Annual Conference Presenter Biographies  (PDF,214KB)

While there are effective specialist treatments for personality disorder, such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment and others, there is limited access to the specialist treatments in Australia. However, generalist treatments, which share the ‘common factors’ of specialist treatments, can provide effective treatment for people with personality disorder and/or complex trauma. This remains a viable treatment option for the majority of Australians with personality disorder and/or complex trauma.

Spectrum’s conference will bring together leading experts, practitioners, researchers, and lived experience speakers to explore ways in which generalist treatment approaches may be used to redefine care.

Assoc. Prof. Lois W. Choi-Kain, psychiatrist and Director of the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute (GPDI) in the US, will be our in-person keynote presenter at the conference. She will be joined by Prof. Joost Hutsebaut, online, a clinical psychologist working as a therapist and researcher at de Viersprong, a centre for the assessment and treatment of personality disorders in the Netherlands.

Join us for a day of collaborative discussion as we work towards enhancing how we approach the treatment of personality disorder and complex trauma.

Click here to register for this event with early bird ticket pricing! Get in quick.

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Spectrum GPM Workshops with Assoc. Prof Lois Choi-Kain

Spectrum is excited to announce Assoc. Prof. Lois Choi-Kain will be providing three one-day General Psychiatric Management (GPM) workshops in March 2024. All three workshops will be offered both online and in-person. Please click on the links below for more information, including the full workshop description, learning objectives and pricing. The three GPM workshops will include:

     
 

General Psychiatric Management for Adults for BPD

Wednesday 20th March 2024, 9am – 4:30pm

Workshop Description: This workshop offers training in a treatment approach to borderline personality disorder (BPD) known as Good or General Psychiatric Management (GPM).

Click here for more information and to register: https://GPMAdults_2024.eventbrite.com.au

 
 
 

General Psychiatric Management for Adolescents with BPD

Friday 22nd March 2024, 9:00am – 4:30pm

Workshop Description: This workshop will teach General/Good Psychiatric Management for Adolescents (GPM-A), a treatment model originally designed for adults and newly adapted for adolescent borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Click here for more information and to register: https://GPMAdolescents_2024.eventbrite.com.au

 


 

General Psychiatric Management for Working with Complexity and Co-Existing Disorders

Monday 25th March 2024, 9:00am – 4:30pm

Workshop Description: This workshop offers training in an empirically validated treatment approach to borderline personality disorder (BPD) known as Good or General Psychiatric Management (GPM) with a specific focus on complex cases involving co-occurring disorders. Assoc. Prof. Sathya Rao will be facilitating this workshop, alongside Assoc. Prof. Lois Choi-Kain,

Prerequisite: Previous knowledge & training in GPM i.e. Spectrum workshop "GPM for Adults with BPD" or "GPM for Adolescents with BPD"

Click here for more information and to register: https://GPMCoExisting_March2024.eventbrite.com.au

 

 

Spectrum has now been recognised as an internationally accredited Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) centre by the Anna Freud Centre. 

This is in recognition of the outstanding work that Spectrum's MBT clinic provides including clinical treatment, training, supervision, service development, promotion/advocacy and research. 

As part of this recognition, Spectrum will also be launching and leading an initiative under the banner of the Australian MBT Institute. It's aim is to increase Australia's workforce capacity to provide MBT, and to achieve excellence in promoting and supporting research locally and via the Global MBT Network.

The Institute will have a range of purposes including to:

  1. Create a national network of MBT centres across Australia to support a community of practice by drawing together services and providers who are applying MBT in various settings e.g., forensics, parent-infant work, child and youth, adults, etc.
  2. Lead training and dissemination of MBT in Australia.
  3. Support people to:
    1. Access non-clinical information about MBT.
    2. Find how to access MBT publicly, and privately.
    3. Maintain a national register of accredited practitioners.
  4. Lead local research projects/treatment developments and disseminate the latest findings from international research.
  5. Develop a community of practice and skills maintenance opportunities.
  6. Host regular professional development seminars/events.

This will formalise and broaden the extensive range of activities already taking place within Spectrum’s MBT Clinic. We look forward to achieving this with collaboration from other stakeholders who are active in this space and will be reaching out to you to connect and discuss things further.

 
We are also delighted to announce that Professor Anthony Bateman has agreed to be our first patron of the Institute and will support its continued development.

 

To register for our 3-day MBT Basic Training please go to our events page.
 
If you have any questions regarding this initiative please contact Julian: julian.nesci@easternhealth.org.au
 

A/Prof Sathya Rao OAM
Executive Clinical Director                                                       

Dr. Julian Nesci

Clinical MBT Specialist

   

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Friday 27th October 2023

10.00am-4.00pm (AEDT)

Program Now Available for Spectrum’s 2023 Annual Online Research Forum!

This FREE, online event will showcase Spectrum’s innovative and translational research & evaluation program. Spectrum’s clinicians, researchers and lead investigators from collaborating organisations will present a range of cutting-edge projects related to personality disorder and complex trauma.

The day will feature keynote presentations by Professor Andrew Chanen, the Chief of Clinical Practice and Head of Personality Disorder Research at Orygen in Melbourne, Australia, as well as a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne. Andrew will be presenting on 'The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations for People Living with Personality Disorder'.

The second keynote speaker will be Professor Sharon Lawn, the Chair and Executive Director of Lived Experience Australia, a nationally awarded mental health consumer/carer advocacy organisation. Sharon will be presenting on 'BPD, Stigma and Human Rights at the Interface of Mental Health Care: What Progress Have We Made?'.

Click here to view the full program (PDF,318KB)

Click here to view the abstracts of all the studies that will be presented on the day (PDF,360KB)

Click here to register!

General enquiries: Email spectrum.research@easternhealth.org.au or phone Spectrum (03) 8413 8750.

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Friday 27th October 2023

10.00am-4.00pm (AEDT)

You are warmly invited to Spectrum’s 2023 Annual Online Research Forum!

This FREE, online event will showcase Spectrum’s innovative and translational research & evaluation program.

The day will feature keynote presentations by Professor Andrew Chanen and Professor Sharon Lawn. Spectrum’s clinicians, researchers and lead investigators from collaborating organisations will present a range of cutting-edge projects related to personality disorder and complex trauma.

Click here to register!

General enquiries: Email spectrum.research@easternhealth.org.au or phone Spectrum (03) 8413 8750.

 

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18th, 19th, 20th October 2023

Spectrum is excited to announce that we now offer the Anna Freud Centre accredited MBT Basic Training for BPD workshop (3-day)! The MBT Basic Training serves as the essential foundation for professionals seeking to enhance their skills in the treatment of personality disorders.

Spectrum’s MBT Basic Training is accredited and recognised by the Anna Freud Centre as the first component of their formal training program to become an accredited practitioner in MBT as follows:

1. MBT Basic training workshop delivered by Spectrum MBT practitioners
2. Supervision with an MBT Practitioner
3. MBT Certificate workshop for practitioner level.

 

Details

When: 18th, 19th and 20th October 2023

Time: 9:00am – 4:30pm

Where: Spectrum, level 1, 110 Church st, Richmond 3121 VIC

Cost: $875

Click HERE for more information and to register

(For more information on the Anna Freud Centre MBT training program, please refer to their website here).

 

Spectrum Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma Service is redesigning its website.

Given the importance of the services and information that Spectrum provides to the community (including consumers, carers, clinicians, researchers, and the general public), we are very keen to understand your experiences of using the current website.

Your input will help us to identify areas that need improvement and make sure that our new website is user-friendly and intuitive. Please take a few moments to complete the survey,

We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

 

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Spectrum and DBT Australia are pleased to announce Registrations are open for a 10-day DBT Intensive Training™

DBT Intensive Training™ is the international gold standard team-based training for developing and implementing comprehensive DBT. It is designed to provide teams with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide DBT. It focuses on both the establishment of comprehensive DBT programs and the clinical skills necessary to provide the treatment to persons with complex mental health problems. 

This training is intended for teams that are invested in learning DBT to a high standard in order to better implement the treatment in their settings. As DBT is a treatment that requires an ongoing consultation team, the DBT Intensive Training™ is designed for treatment teams, not individual practitioners intending to practice alone. A DBT team (minimum of 4, maximum of 8) is a group of mental health professionals who meets at least weekly to assist each other in applying DBT in their practice setting. 

Click here for more information and to register

 

Details

Location of Parts 1 & 2 (in person): Spectrum, Level 1, 110 Church St Richmond, VIC 3121

When: Part 1: 13th – 17th November 2023. Part 2: 20th – 24th May 2024.

Times: 8:30am to 5:00pm each day. Sign-in from 8:00am on the first day.

Cost: $3,190 (inclusive of GST)

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Fortnightly on Wednesday from 1st February 2023
12.00 – 1.00 PM (AEST/AEDT)

The Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma ECHO is a program for healthcare professionals who are keen to improve their capacity to work with people with personality disorder and complex trauma. The ultimate purpose of these sessions is to establish a community of practice of healthcare professionals ranging in expertise and who have a common purpose to improve the wellbeing of people with personality disorder and complex trauma.

Facilitated by GV Health, each session begins with a presentation from a Spectrum or an affiliated expert on a specific topic which is then followed by an in-depth case consultation. There are opportunities for attendees to ask questions and provide recommendations on the case study which is presented by one of the attendees.

Using a real-time online format, attendees will be able to:

  • Learn new approaches and skills
  • Participate in in-depth case consultation
  • Receive feedback and recommendations
  • Provide expertise to a community of colleagues
  • Earn CPD points (self-managed)
  • Have fun!

The Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma ECHO curriculum will address a variety of topics pertaining to personality disorder and complex trauma. The topics will range from understanding the causes and symptoms to topics that assist in treatment and recovery.

View 2023 Curriculum Here (PDF 4.01MB)

Who should attend: Any healthcare professional in private or public services in Victoria

Cost: Free

Registerhttp://eepurl.com/h3INrP

Once registered a link to connect will be sent via a calendar invite to your registered email address.

Regular attendance is not required.

General enquires: Email spectrumtraining@easternhealth.org.au or phone (03) 8413 8750

Video: Project ECHO model:  Are you part of the ECHO?

Past Presentations

Spectrum is pleased to launch it’s 2022 Annual Report.

Within the annual report, you will see that Spectrum has been made a substantial number of achievements in the last year and thus continues to be a key leader in treatment, research and education for personality disorder and complex trauma at both a state and national level.

View the Annual Report