Publications
a. HPFT recovery conference
b. Articles
Fox, J. Ramon, S., Hamaizia, R. (2025) The process of deinstitutionalisation from within an institution: evaluating innovations in a closed ward for women with (borderline) personality disorder. Socialno Dello. Doi:10.71741/sd.2025.64.1-2
c. Becky Inkster conference
https://www.beckyinkster.com/dimh2024coproduction
d. Cygnet conference
Useful Resources
Training Resources
What are personality disorders?
According to the UK NHS people with PD diagnoses may have difficulty regulating emotions, tolerating distress and may act impulsively. This can make it hard for them to relate to others, affecting their overall quality of life. Childhood trauma is often cited as the likely underlying cause of this type of mental ill health, though unspecified genetic make-up is also suggested.
According to NHS the way personality disorders are diagnosed is changing; instead of being diagnosed with a type of personality disorder, patients may be diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe personality disorder, with personality traits.
In an overview of recent studies, it was concluded that the women are at an increased risk of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal behaviour and hence are at increased risk of death by suicide; thus, demonstrating the risks for this population. Moreover, approximately 50–75 % of those who have engaged in deliberate self-harm may attempt suicide, making self-harm prevention and early treatment critical.
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of women diagnosed with PD. It is effective in reducing suicide attempts and other forms of self-harm. DBT seeks to embrace the dialectical tension for those experiencing PD, enabling them to both accept current experiences of distress and simultaneously learn to challenge problem behaviour through acquiring skills to manage their responses.
DBT utilises individual coaching and group skills training, with DBT therapists’ consultation groups. The duration of DBT is usually 1 year of weekly group and individual sessions. It focuses on decreasing suicidal attempts and ideation, reducing self-injury and impulsive behaviours, reducing emergency hospital visits and inpatient admissions, and increasing self-responsibility. Thus, it is cost-effective.
What is shared decision making?
SDM in mental health services has been promoted and developed by US and Canadian psychiatrists since 1997. SDM is practised in most West European countries, Australia and New Zealand, and by all mental health care providers.
SDM assumes that a process in which both service providers and service users, and at times informal carers too, propose intervention options and look jointly at the advantages and disadvantages of each intervention, is more likely to ensure responsible adherence to the agreed decision, be it medication, psychological or social intervention.
This belief is based on the usefulness of learning from both professional scientific knowledge contributed by the clinician and the experiential knowledge of the client is preferable to the application of only one of these perspectives.