1. ‘Sharing the experience of working with Borderline Personality Disorder’ Dr A. Gopala Consultant Psychiatrist Morag Wiseman Senior Social Worker/Mental Health Officer. Alison Lynch Adult Protection Coordinator Police Scotland

2. Content What's your experience? Background – working group. Social Work perspective Alison Lynch- Police perspective Dr Gopala- NHS view

3. What's your experience? How do services fit together?

4. Creating Order out of Chaos

5. Who we represent Multi Agency Borderline Personality Disorder Work stream NHS Local Authority Voluntary organisations Police

6. Aim of working group: Ground breaking work to bring a Multi Agency approach to support clients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to promote and improve quality of life

7. Key Themes Key Themes from Workshop: Awareness & Training, Multi-Agency training Partnership Working Support for Clients and Families/Lack of appropriate services Practices need changing – Guidelines Manage and tolerate risk Sharing knowledge with Clients Cohesive working needed

8. Sound familiar? Varying experiences re: diagnosis, availability of services Varying amount of knowledge Resulting in lack of consistency in treatment and services Sense of frustration and isolation shared by both service users and professionals

9. About me! Qualified as a Social Worker 2007 Worked in Adult Mental Health 2007-2012 Mental Health Officer ( MHO) 2011. Currently Senior Social Worker in a community team.

10. Social work Social Workers are trained in personality development however: No specific training in BPD. Social Workers esp. newly qualified workers reliant on advice from health colleagues regarding the management and impact of BPD.

11. Social work perspective Time spent trying to resolve crisis Limited health professionals involved Anxiety regarding risk management Feeling isolated Condition does not appear to fit neatly within spectrum of protective legislation.

12. Case example Colleague provided case example Female, with a current diagnosis of BPD Difficulties with self harming e.g. cutting, refusing to eat, taking serious overdoses

13. What works? Client should have an awareness of who they are being referred to and why they are being referred. Having an understanding of the Clients needs. Client centred approach/holistic assessment

14. Suggested ways of working → Focus on the person and help them to learn to see their own positives. →Help them develop multiple strategies. A strategy will eventually sink in and work, when she/he is ready for that change. →Focus on one behaviour to be addressed first, hopefully the behaviour that is the most damaging to them.

15. Summary There is room for improvement A more consistent approach Joined up working More training