Symposium 80 - Engaging and understanding the communities of people with borderline personality disorder: Experiences of and interventions for family and partners

Chair(s)

• AU

  Amanda Uliaszek, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  University of Toronto
  Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Discussant(s)

• 

  Jennifer Cheavens, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Professor
  The Ohio State University
  Columbus, Ohio, United States

Presenter(s)

• 

  Elizabeth Earle, B.A.

  Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
  York University
  Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• AU

  Amanda Uliaszek, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  University of Toronto
  Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• NH

  Nathaniel Herr, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

  Associate Professor
  American University
  Washington, District of Columbia, United States
• LC

  Lynn Courey, Other (she/her/hers)

  The Sashbear Foundation
  Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a disorder involving intense and turbulent relationships, emotion dysregulation, and impulsive self-damaging behavior (e.g., suicide attempts, self-injury). These symptoms are nested within individuals with BPD’s close communities; both eliciting and being elicited by relationship problems (e.g., conflict). Perhaps accordingly, the family members of people with BPD report high levels of distress, burden, and fear. However, the actual experiences and needs of these families are underresearched, underrepresented, and undertreated. Effectively improving the well-being of individuals with BPD’s communities and helping family members learn skills that could facilitate BPD recovery requires understanding the experiences and needs of these family members. Such an understanding must draw jointly on quantitative research methods and families’ own lived experiences. This symposia presents research and lived perspectives focused on the experiences and needs of families of people with BPD. The first speaker will present a daily diary analysis on how an individual’s BPD symptoms relate to the daily emotional experiences of their partner. His results suggest that, while all partners have higher anger on days the participant endorses engaging in negative behaviors, partners of participants with high BPD symptoms do not see as much reduction in their anger on days when the participant endorses not engaging in such behaviors.  The second speaker will present a qualitative analysis of letters that individuals with BPD and their partners wrote to each other about the impact of BPD on themselves, and their relationship, as well as their desired goals for a couple treatment. Her results suggest that these couples feel stuck in a cycle of disconnection and hurting each other, but share a desire to improve their communication, reduce painful emotions and loneliness, and that partners seek concrete guidance for responding to BPD symptoms. The third speaker will present on a recent study examining changes in burden, hope, shame, and fear in family members of those with BPD and suicidality as they participate in a peer-led Family Connections program. Finally, the fourth speaker– the founder of a non-profit foundation focused on BPD awareness and advocate for families of people with BPD– will provide an overview of the experiences of family members who lead Family Connections groups both from her own lived experience and drawing on program evaluation data collected by her organization. All of these talks share a common emphasis on bringing the underrepresented experiences and needs of the close community members of people with BPD “to life”. The discussant is a leading expert in BPD intervention research, and will synthesize the key findings of these talks in relation to this year’s convention theme.

Presentations:

• 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST

  (SYM 80) I Want to Feel Like a Team Again: Couples' Experience of Borderline Personality Disorder and What They Want for Treatment
  

  Presenter: Elizabeth A. Earle, B.A. – York University

  Co-author: Ruth Vanstone, MA (she/her/hers) – York University

  Co-Author: Skye Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – York University

  Co-author: Sonya Varma, M.A. (she/her/hers) – York University

  Co-author: Talia Tissera, B.S. – York University

  Co-author: Jenna Traynor, PhD – McLean Hospital

  Co-author: Candice Monson, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Toronto Metropolitan University

  Co-author: Rachel Liebman, Ph.D. – University Health Network
• 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST

  (SYM 80) Reducing Burden and Increasing Hope for the Families of People with Borderline Personality Disorder and Suicide Risk: A National Study of Family Connections in Canada
  

  Speaker: Amanda A. Uliaszek, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Toronto
• 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST

  (SYM 80) It Takes Two to Tango: Borderline Personality Symptoms and the Characteristics and Daily Emotional Experiences of Romantic Partners
  

  Speaker: Nathaniel R. Herr, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – American University

  Co-author: Kelly V. Klein, M.A. – American University

  Co-author: Ella S. Sudit, M.A. (she/her/hers) – American University

  Co-author: Ramya Ramadurai, M.A. (she/her/hers) – American University

  Co-author: Paloma K. Zabala, B.A. – American University
• 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST

  (SYM 80) From Adversity to Advocacy: Empowering Family Members Through Ongoing Involvement as Peers Teaching Skills to People with Borderline Personality Disorder's Supporters
  

  Speaker: Lynn Courey, Other (she/her/hers) – The Sashbear Foundation