The Association for Research in Personality Disorders provides a forum and meeting place for clinicians and researchers interested in personality disorders.  They have provided annual activities to support that mission ever since.  They are an incorporated non profit organization which is an affiliate organization of the American Psychiatric Association.  

The Association started in 1983 as a networking event and cocktail party for personality disorder researchers. As time went on we expanded the networking event to a dinner with an expert speaker which took place at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Currently the society holds a reception on the Saturday of the APA annual meeting and continues educational activities such as APA symposiums. For a number of years we also added a day long educational event on the Saturday at the beginning of the APA week which has received excellent reviews. Each year the ARPD presents a symposium as part of the official APA  educational presentations.  These have also had had very good reviews.
 

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Email: james.reich@ucsf.edu

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Australian BPD Foundation is a group of volunteers passionate in developing an open dialogue between consumers, carers, clinicians and researchers to encourage a positive culture around the mental health issue known as borderline personality disorder (BPD) 

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Country: Australia

Postal Address: PO Box 942, BAYSWATER, Victoria 3153

Email: admin@bpdfoundation.org.au

Call +61 (0)458 469 274

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The BPD Collaborative (BPD Co) state-wide service has been developed in response to the demonstrated need for enhanced, evidence-based BPD service development in South Australia, tailored to the needs of consumers, carers and clinicians. From 1 July 2019, BPD Co will deliver supports and services to clients of all ages living with severe and complex BPD, with a focus on services for new parents, young people with emerging BPD, Aboriginal people, people from LGBTQIA communities and people in the criminal justice system. Delivered through a hub and spoke model, BPD Co offers outreach, consultation and liaison services, shared assessment and treatment planning, support and clinical supervision, integrated with primary care and service partners. It will have a research function and collaborate with tertiary education partners to inform evidence-based practice and continuous service improvement.

Organisation

Address: Level 1, 100 Greenhill Road, Unley SA 5061

Country: Australia

Email: health.BPDservice@sa.gov.au

Call (08) 7425 6500

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Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center is an online resource  that educates people affected by BPD and connects them with treatment and support in their local areas. Affiliated with the Personality Disorders Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Behavioral Health Center, the BPDRC is led by innovators in the research and treatment of personality disorders — including Otto F. Kernberg, MD, FAPA, Clinical Director, who is widely regarded as the world’s leading expert on BPD and pathological narcissism. Dr. Kernberg is also Director of the Personality Disorders Institute and Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine.

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Address: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Behavioral Health Center 21 Bloomingdale Road White Plains, NY 10605

Country: United States of America

Email: bpdresourcecenter@nyp.org

Call 888-694-2273

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This Borderline Personality Disorder Support Services in South Australia website is designed to provide a central point for information for consumers, carers, family members and health providers about Borderline Personality Disorder and the support services including referral requirements, available in South Australia.

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Country: Australia

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The BPD Collaborative (BPD Co) initiative is a South-Australian wide collaboration that has been developed in response to the demonstrated need for enhanced, evidence-based borderline personality disorder (BPD) service development in South Australia, tailored to the needs of consumers, carers and clinicians. The hub and spoke service model will facilitate the operation of an integrated BPD service across South Australia, offering consistent, high-quality care close to where people live. Outcomes to be achieved over time include:

• Improved access to appropriate early intervention services;
• Improved access to appropriate evidence-based services;
• Improved access to recovery-focussed services;
• Reduction in the level of suicide and deliberate self-harm by those who suffer from BPD;
• Decreased presentations to hospitals, including emergency departments, by BPD clients;
• Decreased experience of stigma and discrimination faced by those with a diagnosis of BPD.

Organisation

Address: Level 1, 100 Greenhill Road, Unley SA 5061

Country: Australia

Email: health.BPDservice@sa.gov.au

Call 08 7425 6500

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Borderline Personality Disorder Family provides online support for families and friends of someone with borderline personality disorder. BPDFamily.com is the leading online support group for the family members of individuals suffering from Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other personality and impulse disorders. It is a safe place for intelligent discussion and freedom from the egos and tempers that plague many large blogs and messageboards. 

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PDWORLD became the first registered charity for people with borderline personality disorder in the UK, although no longer a registered charity its important work continues. BPDWORLD is also a named stakeholder for NICE and has been involved in the review of the NICE Guideline for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BDP World has had 50,000 members on its forums with nearly 1 million posts making it the largest forum of its kind in the world.

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Address: Silicon House Farfield Park Manvers Rotherham S63 5DB

Country: United Kingdom

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The British and Irish Group for the Study of Personality Disorder provides a forum for networking in the field of personality disorder. The group organises one main event each year which is a stimulating conference with relevant keynote talks from a variety of fields with presentations of new research, service developments, user involvement and workshops. Additionally, BIGSPD  are currently working towards developing a learning community which can support and connect individuals in working with people with a diagnosis of personality disorder and will therefore be facilitating and coordinating learning regular events to share, thinking, innovation and significant developments which will enhance our efforts to reduce distress and improve lives. 

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Address: Scottish Enterprise Technology Park Nasmyth Building 2nd Floor 60 Nasmyth Avenue East Kilbride Glasgow, G75 0QR

Country: United Kingdom

Call +44 (0) 1355 244966

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The dissaciative network is an international community network that raises awareness about dissociation, amnesia, and multiplicity. The international community network in run by Sarah K Reece with support from other volunteers.  We are passionate about raising awareness about dissociation, amnesia, and multiplicity. Please read, print, and share freely. The DI is a highly diverse community with people who have many different opinions, experiences, and frameworks to understand themselves and their lives; approaches they find helpful, and hopes for the future. We celebrate this!

About Disccociation

About Disccociation

Dissociation is a psychological term for a whole range of experiences. Put simply, dissociation is a disconnection of some kind. You can think of it as being unplugged in some area. Dissociation happens on a continuum, it can be very mild or all the way to very severe.

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Australia

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About Multiplicity

About Multiplicity

People with multiplicity have many different understandings of the origin and function of other personalities, alters or ‘selves’ – here we’ve called them parts. For some common terms and language about multiplicity, please see Language, definitions, and common terms. Of course, each part may have their own understanding of the multiplicity (or be unaware of it, or reject it) and these may contradict each other. It’s extremely important to make room for these contradictions and respect the right of each part to understand and articulate their experiences in their own way.

Multiplicity is a very broad term meaning any experience of more than ‘self’ in your mind or body. People have very different understandings of what it means to experience this ‘more than one’. In some cultures these experiences are considered sacred and valuable, in others they are seen as extremely negative and dangerous. People’s experiences vary widely from extremely distressing and life threatening through to deeply precious and life saving or enhancing. Some people’s experiences includes both extremes. Some people may see these selves outside of their body as people they can talk to, but others do not. Multiplicity may be a temporary situation but for some it is enduring – this can be a good or bad thing. It can be confusing to become aware of the many different ways people can understand experiences of multiplicity, but it can also help to broaden our understanding and connect with others with a diversity of meanings and experiences.

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Australia

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Gender, Dissociation, & Multiplicity

Gender, Dissociation, & Multiplicity

Diverse gender identity can overlap with experiences of dissociation and multiplicity. This does not necessarily mean that people have a mental illness. Having an experience of diverse gender identity is simply part of the normal variation of human experience, and occurs in cultures throughout the world. ‘Transgender’ is often used as an umbrella term for the many different ways a persons gender identity may be different from the gender they were thought to be at birth. It doesn’t mean anything about who a person is attracted to, it’s about their own sense of self. For more about sexuality and multiplicity, see Sexuality and Multiplicity. Some trans people strongly identify as male or female when they’ve previously been identified as the other. Some trans people don’t feel comfortable about the gender binary of only male/female. People may prefer other terms such as non binary, genderqueer, agender and so on.

Trans people often experience significant forms of dissociation, particularly where severe gender dysphoria, trauma, abuse, or anxiety are present. For many people, access to peers, safe places to live and work, and connection with accepting communities are key to reducing the chronic stress that drives these experiences. Tools to manage dissociation and language to communicate about it can also be very helpful particularly when people are in distress. It’s extremely important for mental health resources to be trans-friendly without pathologising the experience of being trans, or the perfectly normal dissociative responses to transphobia.

It can also be extremely helpful when trans supports are aware of the vulnerability of anyone experiencing trauma, shame, identity confusion, and isolation and are able to provided tailored support for these issues, or work in collaboration with mental health and trauma recovery organisations. For more information about dissociation and strategies to manage it, see About Dissociation or our Crisis Page.

Many trans people experience no sense of multiplicity whatsoever. Many people with multiplicity have no trans experiences at all. However, it’s not uncommon for both to be present together. Some trans or queer supports are aware of this and extremely helpful, but others can be limited and cause distress, particularly when only one gender identity is treated as ‘real’. There are many ways gender diversity and multiplicity can be experienced, for example

• Some people have a sense of a male and female versions of themselves
• Some people have different personalities who identify differently with regards to gender – perhaps someone who is non-binary, 3 men, a boy, a child who doesn’t identify with either gender, and a woman all sharing the same system and body
• Some people find that their sense of gender identity is fluid, changing from day to day, in some cases because of co-conscious switching between parts

There’s quite a spectrum! It can be helpful to be aware that trans experiences are common for people with multiplicity, and multiplicity experiences are common for people who are trans.

The presence of multiplicity may change the needs of someone who is trans a little, but it doesn’t have to be a bad or frightening thing! There’s many different ways this can be experienced, explored, or resolved. Some people find that their sense of multiplicity reduces as they accept and begin to live congruently as their real gender. Sometimes a part may be a social construct – a kind of mask worn due to social pressure rather than an authentic separate self. Sometimes different gendered parts may agree to allow the part who is out to use their preferred pronouns or to present the way they feel – male parts wearing male clothes, sometimes multiples permanently transition to allow their primary day to day part/s to feel most comfortable in the body. Sometimes a trans part is integrated or retires and is no longer a independent self sharing the mind or body.

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Australia

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Memory & Amnesia

Memory & Amnesia

Amnesia (any kind of memory issue)  is a challenge for many people! Far less sensationalised than multiplicity, it doesn’t get anywhere near as much attention. It can be very difficult to find books, groups, or other resources specifically for managing this experience. However, the effects can be devastating and far reaching. Some people experience amnesia alongside multiplicity – being unaware of other parts and simply ‘losing time’ or blacking out when they are active. However, it is a myth that all experiences of losing time like this mean that multiplicity is part of the picture. You may ‘come to’ in a strange environment without knowing where you are or how you got there because another part was out. It’s equally possible that you ‘zoned out’ and were operating on auto pilot, in a kind of trance before you suddenly came to and took stock. It’s also possible that you knew exactly what you were doing and had a clear plan in mind, which you have just forgotten. Either way, these are forms of amnesia that do not involve any kind of multiplicity.

Amnesia can be caused by many different things! It’s extremely important not to assume that amnesia is a psychological process, especially if it is suddenly a new issue, or quite severe. Amnesia can be caused by many physical issues such as low thyroid function, a blow to the head, and some drugs and medications. Amnesia is also common following trauma and while under stress. It’s dangerous to assume that amnesia is caused by a something psychological without checking for other common causes. It is of course, also possible to have both physical and psychological causes for amnesia, such as alcoholism and a history of childhood abuse. Whatever the cause of amnesia, access to resources and peers can be extremely helpful.

Memory is an extremely complex field of study. Our ability to remember things is a key aspect of how we navigate the world around us. It is part of our sense of identity and belonging, crucial for connecting with family and friends, and essential for maintaining work and using skills we have learned. People can experience amnesia in many different ways and may find some aspects of their memory affected while others remain intact. For some people, amnesia is a blessing, protecting them from overwhelming trauma. Others find that amnesia started as helpful but became problematic as it affected other areas of their lives. Other people suffer greatly due to their experiences of amnesia and are desperate to reduce or resolve it. Some people experience the absence of memory as a terrifying void, as a subtle persistence sense of something wrong, as white noise, or as living in a fog. In some cases, people are not aware that they have amnesia and rapidly forget about any events that reveal gaps in their memory.

Memory and emotions have a relationship. Things we feel more strongly about we are more likely to remember clearly. That emotion is the reason we can vividly recall specific details of our wedding day or child’s birth but not what we were doing on a different given morning 10 years ago. However, intense emotion can also make memories more prone to being forgotten. Children who have been abused may find relief in amnesia for those experiences. Experiences that are never spoken about and are pushed out of thought do not become part of our life ‘story’, the narrative we have about who we are and where we have come from. These events even if strongly emotional are much more likely to be suppressed and forgotten until triggered by something similar. Some people find they seem to be both forgetting and intrusively remembering the same traumatic memories – unable to recall an incident but reliving it in flashbacks and nightmares for example.

Sometimes people with multiplicity find that memory is split up between different parts. Parts may even ‘take’ and ‘hide’ memories from other parts. Sometimes different parts may remember the same event differently.

Sometimes people (or parts) who have a memory gap will fill in the details with a possible scenario – without being aware they are doing so. The mind does not like to be aware of memory gaps and will fill them in with possible scenarios. This is an automatic brain process called confabulation. Common in survivors of head injuries, it can be mistaken for lying and cause people a great deal of distress.

Memory is not perfect, not like a recording of the event safely stored in our minds. Even in the immediate aftermath of an incident, witnesses will vary greatly in their descriptions of events. This does not mean that all memories are unreliable – witnesses will generally agree on crucial matters such as ‘there was a huge fight and this man was punched in the face’ even if they disagree about how it started, or the colour of the tee shirt of the man who did the punching. Sometimes memories that were lost for awhile and then recovered are inaccurate. Sometimes memories we have always remembered are inaccurate. Sometimes memories are confused by stories we have told ourselves or information other people have given us, such as a young child remembering seeing the ‘dragon’ that burned down their house, or ‘remembering’ the series of three surgeries you were told you had on your hands after the fire, when in fact there were only two. Sometimes people deliberately attempt to confuse people’s memory to discredit them.

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Online Discussion Group

Online Discussion Group

the Dissociative Initiative facilitate a public group called the Dissociative Initiative Open Group on Facebook, for anyone to join – people who experience dissociation, multiplicity, or amnesia; our friends, family, supporters, and professionals. This is a public page so please be aware that anyone on the internet can view all of the content.

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Psychosis & Dissociation

Psychosis & Dissociation

Psychosis and dissociation are both ‘umbrella’ terms that describe a lot of different things. They can be easy to mix up because a severe dissociative episode and a severe psychotic episode can both be frightening and intense and make people feel like (or look like) they’re going crazy. But they are actually very different categories. A quick way to describe them is that where dissociation is some form of disconnection, psychosis often involves an addition of some kind – being able to hear voices or see things that other people can’t, or having unusual beliefs.

Some people have experiences that are considered to be dissociative as well as those considered to be psychotic. For some people, dissociation is part of the prodromal (that is, the onset phase) of having a psychotic episode. Once they recognise this, dissociation can be a useful warning sign for them. Others experience dissociation and psychosis together, feeling disconnected from themselves or their world at the same time as having unusual experiences. For other people, dissociation may follow a psychotic episode; as the unusual experiences finish, they are left with a sense of numbness, unreality, or other forms of disconnection that can make it more challenging to recover and get back into life. Sometimes people find that dissociation protects them from psychosis, others that dissociation makes them more vulnerable to it. In all of these cases, recognising and learning to find what helps with your dissociation can make psychosis less likely or more manageable. Some people with multiplicity experience it in ways traditionally considered to be psychotic, such as being able to see their parts.

People who experience any form of dissociation or multiplicity are often misdiagnosed as psychotic. When someone is panicked and distressed, it can be difficult for someone outside of them to know what is going on, and most mental health staff are far more familiar with and therefore more likely to diagnose psychosis than dissociation. To make things more complicated, some experiences such as those classed as Schneiderian First-Rank Symptoms – which involve things such as though insertion, thought withdrawal, and voices heard arguing, have been shown in some studies to be far more indicative of DID (multiplicity) than schizophrenia (psychosis). So some of what mental health staff have been told to look out for as evidence of psychosis is actually evidence of dissociation.

For some people, neither of these classifications fit very well. Their experiences sit on the border between the two ideas, or for them they overlap. This is often the nature of classification systems, as soon we create discrete categories, it’s quite normal to find that not everything fits. An example is that for some people who hear voices, they experience them as parts, that is, as separate distinct personalities that share their mind. However they don’t switch and can’t impact the body or the physical world. These people currently usually get a psychotic diagnosis and are told the voices are auditory hallucinations. However, voices are also not uncommon for people who experience multiplicity (multiple personalities, dissociative identity disorder). The distinction between psychotic voices (parts who can be heard but can’t affect the body), and dissociated parts (parts who can affect the body and may or may not be heard as voices) may be an arbitrary one that cuts people off from valuable perspectives and resources. It’s possible that similar psychological processes are behind the formation of both, in some cases. Some people experience both voices and parts.

Traditionally, clinical services have very different approaches to voices vs parts.  People with parts are more often:

• Told they are faking for attention
• Told they must love, live with, and connect to all their parts
• Told they must have a trauma history, must talk about it, and must make trauma recovery the focus of therapy
• Told they must integrate with their parts to be healthy
• Told that parts prove they are creative, resilient survivors

People with voices are more often:

• Told that they must ignore, suppress, or medicate away their voices to be healthy
• Not allowed to connect with, get along, love, or miss any of their voices
• Told they have a life long illness they must learn to manage
• Have any trauma history considered irrelevant
• Told that voices prove they are fragile, mentally ill, and vulnerable to stress

In either case, a dogmatic approach where people are strongly encouraged to fit their experiences to current understandings and frameworks can do harm. Some people who hear voices find that multiplicity type resources have invaluable ideas and approaches. Some people who have parts or other forms of dissociation find psychotic type resources to be incredibly useful. It’s perfectly okay to cherry pick ideas and strategies from different – even conflicting – frameworks to create something individual and effective for yourself/selves.

For more information about voices and other ‘psychotic’ experiences, please see our sister Network, the Hearing Voices Network of South Australia. (hvnsa.wordpress.com)

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Sexuality & Multiplicity

Sexuality & Multiplicity

Most queer (bisexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, queer, asexual, poly and so on) people are not multiple.

Many people with multiplicity do not identify as queer, and have only parts with a straight, cis-gender orientation.

For some people, it’s their gender identity that cues them about their multiplicity – see Gender, Dissociation, and Multiplicity. For other people, their introduction to their own multiplicity is through trying to make sense of their sexual orientation.

Sometimes people are exploring identity, trying to find something that feels like a good fit, and every label they find feels like it’s not quite right, or not right all the time. That may be because the labels just don’t fit or because they’ve been used as insults, because they are used by people we don’t wish to be compared to, or because they leave out something important about themselves. It may be they are too broad or feel too unspecific. Sometimes people reject or give up on labels, but still wonder why there’s a lingering sense of not understanding something about themselves that’s waving for attention.

Sometimes the issue is that people have been told they have to be one thing or the other – straight or gay, for example. It can help a lot to realise that many people identify as bisexual  or pansexual because they find they are attracted to more than gender. This does’t mean you are multiple or that anything is wrong. When David Bowie was coming out, he once mentioned that being mistaken as straight felt weird, and being mistaken as gay started to make him feel like a closeted straight man. He identified as bi. You can learn about bi here: What bisexuality is, and 9 things it isn’t.

Another challenge can be fluidity. Many people experience their sexual orientation as ‘fixed’, that is, unchanging. Even if they deeply wish to change, or are subjected to therapies and efforts to change, deep down it stays the same. So a lot of the gay rights movement has developed around this awareness that most people simply can’t change their orientation and shouldn’t be made to. Some people find however, that their orientation is ‘fluid’ and that their attraction can change over the years, or even day to day. This can make people uncomfortable, and may lead to diagnoses such as Borderline Personality Disorder or DID. In reality, fluid identity in itself is not sufficient for any diagnosis, and many people embrace their fluidity and live with it – being fluid may be something they can’t change.

However, for some of us, things still just don’t quite fit. Sometimes it’s because multiplicity is part of the mix and no matter what labels you choose, there’s a part who doesn’t fit in or feel comfortable. If there’s experiences of multiplicity present, it may be that parts have orientations that are different to each other.

• For example, Sarah’s system has a number of orientations across different parts
• Straight, cis (that means not trans) woman who’s pretty shy
• Agender nonromantic asexual
• Bisexual male who likes cross dressing and finds it amusing that he can do that in work situations without being harassed because our body is female
• Bisexual nonbinary who’s out and does a lot of advocacy work
• Lesbian

Child who doesn’t particularly think of themselves in terms of gender identity or presentation, aside what’s good to wear for climbing trees, and who certainly isn’t attracted to anyone of any gender

Because Sarah navigates public life as a group, they identify as bisexual and non-binary/genderqueer as these are the most inclusive terms – or simply as queer which is less of a mouthful!

It can be a relief to look at your experiences through the framework of multiplicity when it fits. For some people, they can hear, feel, or sense other parts and their conflicting feelings. So for example, out on a date they may feel disturbed by a child parts feelings of distress, boredom, or revulsion. A person with a gay male part and asexual female part may feel very home in the local gay club, and very out of place at the same time, or may switch between them feeling great one moment and desperate to leave the next, or have strange, strong, hard to name internal conflicts about getting there in the first place.

If people are threatened or ashamed of diverse sexuality, this can be a reason they deny multiplicity and reject other parts. It can be strange and difficult to process that we are sharing a mind and body with a part who experiences the world so differently – it can also be wonderful! But it’s extra hard if we believe it’s wrong to be queer or disgusting to be straight. Parts can also have huge power struggles over who gets to be out and known, who’s identity is the public one, and who gets to choose partners or lifestyle.

Being able to make your inner world safe and respectful can be hard if you haven’t had many of those experiences yourself. Diversity can be celebrated rather than just a cause for fighting. People with multiplicity, families, cities and nations have at times been amazing examples of valuing diversity and supporting each other. It can be done and many of us are doing it.

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Australia

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Organisation

Country: Australia

Postal Address: PO Box 165 Brompton South Australia 5007

Email: sarah@di.org.au

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Engaging Multiple Personalities is a book and blog written by David Yeung exploring Multiple Personality Disorder.

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The European Society for the Study of Personality Disorders stimulates and supports scholarship, clinical experience, international collaboration and communication of research on all aspects of personality disorders including epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis and assessment, course and treatment in Europe. It is a society with a European Signature which will address the specific needs of the European personality disorder field and actively will expand it to countries in which it is less developed.

Organisation

Address: c/o Kenniscentrum Personlijkheidsstoornissen Postbox 725 3500 AS Utrecht

Country: Netherlands

Email: info@esspd.eu

Call +44 20 7679 5997

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The Florida Borderline Personality Disorder Association is a not for profit organisation that promotes awareness, education, and research of borderline personality disorder and cultivate an atmosphere of support among professionals, consumers, and families throughout the state.

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Country: United States of America

Email: info@fbpda.org

Call 800-435-7352

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Hope for Borderline Personality Disorder is a website created by Amanda L Smith who provides consultation, family support & eveidence-based treatment for borderline personality disorder & self-harming behaviours.

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Address: Amanda L. Smith, LCSW 900 Austin Avenue Suite 304 Waco, Texas 76701

Country: United States of America

Email: amanda@hopeforbpd.com

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The International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (ISSPD) stimulates and supports scholarship, clinical experience, international collaboration and communication of research on all aspects of personality disorders including both diagnosis, course and treatment. Through its Regional and National organizations, ISSPD encourages the initiative of education and research on personality disorders as well as collaborative efforts across countries and regions. ISSPD is open to professionals who are actively involved or interested in the study, assessment and treatment of personality disorders.

The International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (ISSPD) was established to provide a forum for collaboration and information sharing amongst academics and clinicians interested in the field of Personality Disorders. The Society promotes collaboration and excellence in research and clinical practice through its international and regional congresses, and the publication of the Journal of Personality Disorders. Through this website and its regular newsletters, the Society aims to keep members up to date with the latest developments in research and educational programs in the field of Personality Disorders.

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Email: admin@isspd.com

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The Journal of Personality Disorders is the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders. The Journal of Personality Disorders has long been a singular forum devoted exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of clinically significant personality disorders. The journal fosters dialogue among researchers and practitioners working from a variety of orientations and approaches, with a well established international impact. This multidisciplinary journal regularly features:

• Research on normal and pathological personality and development
• New methodologies for assessing personality
• Etiologies and clinical classifications for personality disorders
• Epidemiological studies and outcomes research on diagnostic criteria
• Treatment techniques and innovations

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Multiplicity 1010 is a website started to provide information about multiple personality (multiplicity, plurality) to the general public through blogging and podcasts. This is a project of Plural Activism, an ad hoc group devoted to normalizing the idea of multiplicity and dispelling myths.

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Email: 101@multiplicity101.com

Call 720-258-6269

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The National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder is a website and Media Library that provides an international resource of audio and video postings. There are many hundreds of presenters who gave of their time to make this the largest global media library on borderline personality disorder. The National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder provides education, raises public awareness and understanding, decreases stigma, promotes research, and enhances the quality of life of those affected by BPD and emotion dysregulation

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Country: Australia

Email: info@neabpd.org

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NEPDA's mission is a not for profit organisation that aims to promote education, support and advocacy in the field of personality disorders, with a concentration on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). NEPDA sponsors workshops, conferences and small-group meetings for family members, friends and other loved ones, consumers of mental health services, professionals and the community at large in order to improve awareness of personality disorders and reduce the stigma which is often associated with them. NEPDA partners with other groups and organizations, including McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, in disseminating educational materials and providing basic information and personal support to those who may be confronting one or more of these disorders for the first time.

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Address: 115 Mill Street Belmont, MA 02478

Country: United States of America

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The North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (NASSPD) is an organization devoted to research concerning personality disorders. They are committed to:

• Further research on personality disorders
• Informing clinicians, patients, and their family members about the latest information concerning personality disorders
• Aggressively advocating for the funding personality disorders

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Email: stepp.nasspd@gmail.com

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Open Borders is a nursing-led program for people with Borderline Personality Disorder. The Hampton Road Service (HRS) is a 10 bed state wide residential sub-acute mental health service located in Fremantle, Western Australia. The service provides step down from acute mental health facilities, admission diversion and respite services. Referrals are accepted from across the state. Average length of stay ranges from one to three weeks, to a maximum of six. The facility is staffed by registered, enrolled nurses and therapy assistants. Clients must be aged 18-64 years and have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and a recent history of highly unstable behaviour evidenced by either multiple hospital admissions in the past year, or long periods of time in hospital over the past year. Clients must also have an allocated case manager in adult public mental health services.

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Address: 33 Moss Street, East Fremantle WA 6158

Country: Australia

Call (08) 9431 4882

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Out of the FOG is an online website and anonymous support group for people who have a relationship with someone who suffers from a personality disorder.

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Personality disorders is a website designed to find out more about the different personality disorders, including borderline, antisocial and dangerous and severe, and what the diagnosis means. It also aims to keep people up to date with the latest news about what is happening in the world of personality disorder and how you can get involved.

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Country: United Kingdom

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Personality Disorder is a research program focuses on understanding, preventing and treating severe personality disorder. A key part of the activities is the Helping Young People Early (HYPE) program.  Their current research projects include:

• HYPE 600: this study is an evaluation of the long-term outcome of early intervention for borderline personality disorder
• MOBY (Monitoring Outcomes in BPD in Youth): this study examines early intervention for borderline personality disorder in young people.
• Stress Study: this study examines the neuroendocrinological stress response system and stress vulnerability in youth with first-presentation BPD.
• A 10-year follow up study examining premature mortality among individuals who met criteria for borderline personality disorder during their youth.
• MS-BPD Trial (Making Sense of Borderline Personality Disorder): this is a randomised controlled trial of a group intervention for family and friends with borderline personality disorder
• Voices study: this study examines the role of interpersonal schema in the experience of auditory verbal hallucinations in borderline personality disorder
• VERBATIM is a randomised controlled trial of aripiprazole for treatment of auditory verbal hallucinations in borderline personality disorder.
• The Functioning study: development of a measure of functioning for young people with borderline personality disorder
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of a clinical pathway and screening tool in improving clinical practice in an early intervention program for borderline personality disorder
• SPEARS: this study examines the sexual, reproductive and physical health in youth with borderline personality disorder.
• GendR: this study investigates the sexuality, gender and identity in borderline personality disorder.
• Kindred Study: a Moderated Online Social Therapy for carers of youth with borderline personality disorder.
• Evaluation of an Early Intervention for Borderline Personality Disorder training package for mental health clinicians targeting knowledge and attitudes

Organisation

Address: The University of Melbourne Grattan Street, Parkville, Victoria, 3010

Country: Australia

Call +61 3 9035 5511

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The Project Air Strategy for Personality disorders is an internationally recognised leader in research, education and treatment of personality disorders. They  aim to support compassionate, evidence-based treatment and recovery for people with personality disorder and related conditions. The Project Air Strategy generates scientific research discoveries, inspire through education and training, and consult with our partners to improve treatment. They partner with health, justice, communities, schools, families and individuals, bringing new scientific discoveries to promote recovery through effective response and treatment of complex mental health challenges.

Project Air is a centre of excellence for research, education and treatment of personality disorders and related complex challenges including self-harm, suicide and comorbid conditions and is the only university-based personality disorders centre with a national and international focus that has the capacity and expertise to provide a national focus of work.  Project Air has developed and evaluated a range of interventions for health services, schools and clinicians. We build capacity to help health services, schools and communities identify and respond more effectively to suicide risk, self-harm and complex mental health presentations. 

Project Air Strategy for Personality Disorders is a partnership between the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute at the University of Wollongong and the NSW Ministry for Health and Local NSW Health Districts. It seeks to engage the community, families, carers, consumers and health and drug and alcohol services and agencies, to support better treatments for personality disorders. Founded in 2001, the Strategy fosters University-Health partnerships locally, nationally and internationally.

Organisation

Address: Northfields Avenue University of Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia

Country: Australia

Email: info-projectair@uow.edu.au

Call +61 2 42981571

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Personality Disorders - Psych Forums is a range of forums on a range of personality disorders.

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Spectrum Personality Disorder Service for Victoria is the Statewide Centre of Clinical Excellence for Personality Disorders. It was established by the Victorian Health Department in 1999 and is managed by Eastern Health. Spectrum provides leadership in the application of evidence-based best practice around treatment and recovery from personality disorders. Spectrum offers a range of services including:

• Specialist treatment to the small number of people for whom a specialist service is most appropriate. Over many years, we have developed expertise in treating people with personality disorders, especially BPD. This expertise includes working with people with complex care needs, working with significant clinical risk, as well as offering treatment in several evidence-based approaches.
• Training of mental health professionals
• Secondary consultations to other service providers to enable them to support people with personality disorders. (When supported, skilled service providers outside of Spectrum can offer the vast majority of services).
• Face-to-face psycho-education and support for people with personality disorders and their families and friends. We also have some capacity to support other services to offer such resources.
• Sector leadership to enhance supports for people with personality disorders.
• Research into personality disorders to help inform and develop best practice
• Advocacy for the needs of Victorians with personality disorder, their families and carers, and for improved resourcing of the mental health system that provides treatment and support.

Spectrum supports and works with local Area Mental Health Services (AMHS) and health professionals to provide treatment for people aged 16-64 who are assessed as having, or who have a personality disorder. We particularly focus on those who are at risk from serious self-harm or suicide and who have complex needs.

Organisation

Address: 110 Church St, Richmond, Victoria, 3121

Country: Australia

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The Disassociative Initiative is anb international community network raising awareness about dissociation, amnesia, and multiplicity.

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Country: Australia

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The Treatment and Research Advancements for Borderline Personality Disorder is a  not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster education and research in the field of personality disorder, specifically but not exclusively Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to:

• Support research into the causes, psychobiology and treatment of personality disorders
• Support and I encourage educational programs and endeavors targeting mental health professionals, consumers of mental health services, families and/or the community at large in order to reduce stigma and increase awareness of personality disorder
• Disseminate available information on etiology and treatment and to lawfully advocate for accomplishments of these goals.

Organisation

Address: 23 Greene St. #3 NY, NY 10013

Country: United States of America

Email: TARA4BPD@gmail.com

Call (212) 966-6514

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Thoiughts from J8 ius a website stated by author and blogger Jade Miller on topics of trauma, ritual abuse, SRA Survivor, dissociation, relationships and attachment. The blog was created to help educate the public about trauma survivors and as a support for those who live and/or work with them, with a focus on dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D.), and multiplicity.

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