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DBT team

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In his opening address to the 2019 BPD Foundation conference, Minister Foley spoke of the ‘tide of change” that is coming and the partnership between Spectrum and the State Government to conduct the PDI Program to help to build the capability and expertise of the clinical Mental health workforce which is being rolled out in six health services. By building the skill and competency of clinicians to provide effective treatment of people with BPD it is hoped that they will be able to help increase awareness of and improve understanding of Personality Disorders and also to help to reduce stigma and discrimination.

LATE BREAKING NEWS! – Additional presentation by Professor Louise Newman AM - Mothering & Identity in BPD - Early intervention approaches.

PROFESSOR LOUISE NEWMAN AM, BA(Hons) MBBS(Hons) PhD FRANZCP Cert. Child Psych. RANZCP
 
Louise Newman is the Director of the Centre for Women’s Mental Health at the Royal Women’s Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne


 
Prior to this appointment she was the Professor of Developmental Psychiatry and Director of the Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry & Psychology. She was the founding Chair of Perinatal and Infant Psychiatry at the University of Newcastle and the previous Director of the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry. In January 2011 she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for work in child protection and asylum seeker advocacy.
 
She is a practising infant psychiatrist with expertise in the area of disorders of early parenting and attachment difficulties in infants.  She has undertaken research into the issues confronting parents with histories of early trauma and neglect.  Her current research focusses on the evaluation of infant-parent interventions in high-risk populations, the concept of parental reflective functioning in mothers with borderline personality disorder and the neurobiology of parenting disturbance
 
She has published in the areas of infant mental health, attachment disorders, trauma, and prevention of child abuse. She is co-author of the textbooks Clinical Skills in Infant Mental Health and Contemporary Approaches in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
 
She is the Convenor of Doctors for Justice and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Group. She has been a Government advisor on asylum seeker and refugee mental health and contributed to the development of policy for mental health screening and response to torture survivors. She has been involved in research into the impact of immigration detention on child asylum seekers.

 

Spectrum’s Annual Conference

Borderline Personality Disorder: Expression, Impact and Treatment across Life Stages

Date: Friday 13th September 2019

Time: 8:30am – 4:30pm

Location: Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre – 1 Convention Pl, South Wharf VIC 3006

Cost: $295            Contact: Lalitha Ganapathy – Phone: 03 8413 8753 Email: spectrumtraining@easternhealth.org.au

 

Human Personality undergoes continuous development and modification in response to maturation and environmental factors.

Contemporary research is pointing to the recognition of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) across the life stages.

This conference will consider the diagnosis, prevention, early intervention and treatments across life stages, with eminent speakers presenting on BPD from childhood, through adolescence and adulthood to older age.

Three concurrent workshops have also been planned for the afternoon.

Conference flyer 2019

Registration via Eventbrite

 

 

 This group is designed to support psychologists with their practice in the public and/or private sector who encounter challenging and complex clients with diagnoses of personality disorders.

This one day workshop for families, friends and others who support someone with BPD (or a likely diagnosis of BPD) provides information about BPD and how to best support the person whilst still caring for yourselves. The group will explore a number of educational and practical approaches to learning new skills in the context of a safe environment amongst other carers.

Are you a health professional? Have you worked with people living with personality disorder?
 
SANE Australia is conducting a research project and would like to hear from you.
 

Get involved with Spectrum’s research program!

Does depression experienced by someone diagnosed with BPD differ from depressive disorder?

Spectrum is recruiting for a research study to understand how people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder experience depression.

Eastern Health’s new Statewide Services building has been officially opened, with a special event on 1 March 2018. Based in Richmond, the site will be the new home for Spectrum and Turning Point. As well as a ceremonial cutting of the ribbon to celebrate the occasion, the event featured a Welcome to Country from Aunty Joy.