Skills for working with BPD 101: an introduction

Diane Clare

Exploring what works, and how to support these clients

This one-day training is an introduction to skills for working with those with BPD, and will examine and address, the following questions regarding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD):

  • What is personality?
  • How does personality become disordered?
  • What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
  • Why does BPD have such an impact on staff?
  • How is BPD most effectively managed and treated?
  • How do we support the client and their families effectively.

Diane Clare will provide attendees with practical skills for working with those with emotional intensity difficulties.

The workshop will also provide a brief introduction to the STEPPS (Systems Training in Emotional Predictability & Problem Solving *see below for more information) programme, explain why this approach is so helpful in responding to clients with consistency, and why it lends itself well to a cultural approach with Maori and Pacific cultures due to working with the client’s support system.

Many practitioners have said that the skills learned in this workshop have been useful to apply to a wider range of clients than solely to those with borderline personality e.g. people with emotional intensity problems or impulse control problems.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Through gaining a fuller understanding of BPD and what is working in supporting these clients, participants will gain a new set of resources and related skills that can be applied to their practice, and the training will provide increased confidence when working with these clients who can be challenging for services. Staff’s assessment and conceptualisation skills regarding borderline personality disorder will be enhanced.

It will provide specific guidance for all mental health professionals in evidence-based psychological treatment for personality disorders, and complex trauma, and will dispel the common myths about Borderline Personality Disorder – what it is, and what it is not.

Following on from this BPD 101 training, we are also offering a workshop on BPD 201. Contact us to express your interest.

 

When: 18 July 2025, 9am – 3pm

Where: Online via Zoom

Cost: $320 inc GST. The price stated is per person.

Contact: Faye  [email protected]

> register online

FAQs

Q About Diane

BA, MA (Hons), Dip. Clin. Psych., AFBPS
Memberships: NZCCP, MNZAP, ISSTD
Accredited Practitioner in EMDR and is a member of the EMDRNZ Board.

Diane Clare is a registered clinical psychologist who trained at the University of Canterbury. Diane has worked in mental health and counselling services since 1981, first as a grief counsellor then as a psychotherapist, before becoming registered as a psychologist in 1993. She has worked in leadership and Director level roles across a range of services in both NZ and the UK including primary care, adult mental health, forensic, intellectual disability and tertiary student services.

While in the UK in 2005 she developed the Alternatives to Self-Harm programme and has presented her work internationally since 2012. Diane is a seasoned presenter and provides a range of workshop options with an emphasis on practical solutions for clinical staff. She has a specialist interest in working with people recovering from the effects of complex trauma.

Q Who Should Attend

In addition to therapists and MH professionals in both primary and secondary level care, this workshop is also for front-line staff with no, or little psychological training, who may be struggling with how to work with these clients.

It is suitable for those working in social services, health and law enforcement, including:

- Emergency Room staff, Crisis Telephone Helpline staff
- School counsellors and teaching staff
- Community mental health staff
- Police and Probation Officers
- Youth justice counsellors
- Key Workers, Unit Managers, Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers
- General Practitioners
- Psychologists & Psychiatrists RTLB, Therapists, and Licensed Practising Counsellors

It will particularly suit those in NFP’s, community-based outreach services, community organisations, and those working with specific groups including young people or people with comorbid substance use.

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