Family Groups

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) is a condition that can make emotions difficult to cope with. These very intense emotions can last from a few hours to a few days and change very quickly. Anger and Sadness can be particularly strong and difficult to control. A common fear in this group is that they will be abandoned by the people they care about (this can be an imagined fear) and so will go to extreme lengths to prevent this from happening.

Often in an attempt to cope with these difficulties the sufferers will deliberately self-harm and in some cases even attempt suicide. Relationships are also both hard to form and hard to maintain and so a social life is difficult, often because there is a lack of interpersonal skills. In situations that are stressful then paranoia can develop where suspicion of others and their motives is high or alternatively they could completely dissociate and become detached from the present reality.

Admittedly, BPD is a difficult condition for both the individual and their loved ones and in the past had been deemed untreatable and often sufferers had been misjudged as manipulative. However, this is a big misconception and actually they are very sensitive to the needs of those around them. There are many skills that can be taught to help improve lives and make them not just tolerable but also enjoyable.

Darryl Christie is an expert in BPD/EUPD and a Dialectical Behaviour Therapist. He is a Consultant based in London, and an experienced expert supervisor and trainer. He supervises Psychotherapists and Psychologists in the adult and children’s DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) teams for the Priory Hospitals in and around London. He provides supervision for a leading private addictions service and two NHS Trusts. He is the Clinical Director at Body and Soul, a leading award-winning UK charity. Darryl is a subject matter expert with a special interest in helping parents of those suffering with emotional dysregulation issues.

Darryl worked for over 17 years in the UK’s NHS and Social Services, mainly in a Specialist Personality Disorder Service. His special interests include improving family connections, suicidal and self-harming behaviours in adults and children, anxiety, depression, eating problems, addictions and Complex PTSD as well as relationship difficulties.

In order to better support someone with BPD often it is helpful to develop a deeper understanding of both BPD itself and how it is formed as well as techniques to encourage effective behaviour. From the family connections model the following will be covered in the sessions:

Schedule

• Week 1 -What is BPD
• Week 2-Biosocial theory behind BPD
• Week 3-6 The Skills- How to help your loved one
• Week 7-Family Support Mechanisms
• Week 8- Validation
• Week 9- Change strategies
• Week 10-Trouble shooting/problem-solving

Ultimately, our goal is to improve the lives of those suffering with emotional dysregulation BPD and for them to have a supportive network for those more difficult days.

The fee for attending is £150 per session and each session can be attended by up to 3 family members. The fee for one person is £120.

The group is held on Fridays at 4pm and lasts for 10 weeks. There are pre-defined start and finish dates.