ON-BPD News | 2017, Issue 3

Following are some news stories from us, as well as some bulletins we've received that may be of interest to you.

Updates from the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder:

News from our partners:

If you have news that would be of interest to us or our members, please send it to webservices@on-bpd.ca.

Family Connections

road-sun-rays-path_small.jpgResearch has shown that providing information about BPD is not enough; adding skills to the mix makes a big difference to how well families cope with their loved one's disorder. Family Connections addresses the needs of family members by giving information about BPD and teaching them skills for improving communication and strengthening their relationships. A third element of the Family Connections program is opportunity to find peer support of others who understand and have lived our challenges.

ON-BPD is now accepting applications to participate in our next session of Family Connections, a 12-week program designed to provide the adult family members and spouses of individuals with emotion dysregulation or borderline personality disorder with knowledge and skills for their own well-being and for better understanding their loved one. Our next session is full, but we do keep a waiting list, so don't wait to apply.

To apply, please download and complete the application form, and send it by e-mail to intake@on-bpd.ca.

Continuing Connections

Invitations to the next Continuing Connections session will be going out this week. We apologize for the short notice, but hope you have penciled the date into your calendar!

Continuing Connections is offered as a three-hour skills refresher and support group for Family Connections graduates. At these sessions, offered quarterly, a facilitator reviews topics that were covered during the 12-week course and provides further discussion. Participation is by invitation only.

Below is the Continuing Connections (tentative) schedule for 2017. Please save the dates in your calendars and stay tuned for your personal email invitation to the next Continuing Connections session. If you have completed a Family Connections course, but have not received any of the previous e-mails about Continuing Connections, please contact us at webservices@on-bpd.ca.

  • March 25: Effective Communication in the Family Environment
  • June 10: Family Education
  • October 21: Problem Management

We appreciate your support, attendance, and participation. If you have suggestions on how we can improve these workshops, we would love to hear from you. Please email : info@on-bpd.ca

Moving Forward

Behind the scenes, the ON-BPD board of directors has been busy!

  • In February, we submitted a funding proposal to the Community Foundation of Ottawa – our goals are to augment our lending resources and to send more people for training as facilitators.
  • This month we will be submitting a proposal to Bell Let's Talk Community Fund with an objective of being able to offer "teleConnections" – Family Connections by phone. Our American counterpart, the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder, has been doing this for years. It is a great solution for rural participation. We hope to do a pilot teleConnections session later this year.
  • We continue to strengthen ties with fellow organizations, such as the Family Advisory Committee, The Royal's Regional Support Program, Sashbear, and AMI Québec.
  • In the past, we have invited people to become members as they take the Family Connections course, but we have never followed up with membership renewals. We have recently enabled an online membership form on our website and will initiate a "membership campaign" soon.

Emotional (Dys)Regulation Workshop

The Royal Mental Health Centre is holding a 1.5-day workshop on how to help people manage emotional dysregulation, especially for youth with concurrent disorders.

managing_emotional_dysregulation.jpg

 

Free Webinar: “How to Speak Borderline: A Live Demonstration”

March 30, 1-2 pm EST
Hosted by Karen A. Adler, MD, Staff Psychiatrist, Adult Outpatient Services and Gunderson Outpatient Program

A core symptom of borderline personality disorder is interpersonal hypersensitivity, which means conversations with loved ones often end in misunderstandings, conflict, and hurt feelings. In a previous webinar, Dr. Adler addressed the roots of hypersensitivity to perceived criticism and key roles of shame, fear and anger in fueling heated conflicts between individuals. Strategies were taught on how to identify common triggers of these underlying emotions and use validation to reduce conflict and engage in problem solving. For this follow-up webinar, we ask that registrants email Dawn Sugarman with real-life dilemmas they have faced or will face in communicating with their loved one and we will choose example scenarios to role play to demonstrate skills in action.

► Click here to register

BPD Patient and Family Education live webinars are geared toward family members of loved ones with borderline personality disorder and are available free of charge. Advance registration is suggested.

Upcoming Webinars:

  • “Introduction to DBT Skills Training” Thursday, March 30, 2017, 4-5 pm EST
  • “Eating Disorders, Overeating, and Borderline Personality Disorder” Thursday, April 13, 2017, 4-5 pm EST

Archived Webinars (Browse this page to see more.)

 

Caregiver Study

Paige Lamborn is doing research into the experience of people who care for others with personality disorders, and would like your input. Read more about it here: PDF about the survey.

Contact Paige Lamborn if you are interested in taking this survey.

P.A.I.R. – Plan d’action individualisé de rétablissement

Offerte par Montfort Renaissance, cette séance a pour but de développer un guide pratique d’autogestion de votre santé mentale et prendre en main votre propre rétablissement! Ce groupe est gratuit, confidentiel et animé en français par des pairs qui ont eux aussi connu des périodes difficiles. Il offre:

  • Espoir
  • Entraide par les pairs
  • Non-jugement
  • Reprise de pouvoir
  • Autodétermination

Pour vous inscrire, prière de nous contacter au 613-744-2244 ou klortie@mri.ca.

Caregivers Matter Support Group in Kanata

Research has shown that peer support can make a huge difference to how well we cope with a loved one's illness. This monthly support group, run by The Oasis, offers a safe, confidential, professionally-facilitated environment where caregivers of people with mental illness gather to share experiences; provide mutual support; and learn how they can better care for themselves as they care for their loved ones suffering from a mental illness. Preregistration is not required.  Contact Christina Glaus at OasisManager@TheOasisKanata.ca for more information

Location for all sessions: Glen Cairn United Church, 140 Abbeyhill Drive, Kanata.

Next session: Monday, April 3, from 7 to 8:30 pm