Consumers suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder have typically experienced complex trauma – that is, the exposure to multiple ongoing traumatic events, often involving their closest attachment figures and remaining unresolved.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder often struggle to experience themselves in a stable or positive way, feel preoccupied with a fear of abandonment, maintain intense and unstable relationships, and are often plagued by marked feelings of emptiness or anger. Individuals suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder might use certain coping mechanisms to manage such intense distress, such as idealising then devaluing others, suicidal thoughts or actions, thoughts or acts of deliberate self-harm, dissociating, or entering a state of paranoia.
Consumers suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder might also experience comorbid mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD, or even substance dependence.
Digital mental health interventions can link consumers to practical distress tolerance and safety planning tools, psychoeducation resources and peer support networks, which can be used in conjunction with standard treatments administered by a mental health professional.
Blue Knot Foundation
Impacts of Complex Trauma on the Brain and Development
https://blueknot.org.au/resources/coping-strategies-impacts-and-healing/impacts/
The Blue Knot Foundation provides telephone and email counselling, information, online factsheets, and downloadable videos for Australian adults who have experienced childhood trauma and abuse. Their website includes information on the impacts of trauma and guidelines for professionals on complex trauma, to support practitioners in the treatment of clients with Borderline Personality Disorders.
Headspace
Borderline Personality Disorder
https://headspace.org.au/clinical-toolkit/toolkit-borderline-personality-disorder/
Headspace is a national youth mental health foundation providing information and resources to young people, their families, and friends. Their website provides information on a range of conditions including Borderline Personality Disorder, including assessment, management, monitoring, care, and pathways to access support. This information is available for clients, families, friends, and professionals.
Sane Australia
Borderline Personality Disorder
https://www.sane.org/information-stories/facts-and-guides/borderline-personality-disorder
Sane Australia provides straightforward and concise information on treatment, self-help, and moderated peer support forums on a range of mental health conditions. Their website includes information about Borderline Personality Disorder, the facts, myths, symptoms, and where to access help for themselves, a friend, or family member.
ReachOut
Borderline Personality Disorder
https://au.reachout.com/articles/borderline-personality-disorder
ReachOut is an online youth mental health service providing information to young people, their friends, family, and school communities on a range of topics relating to their mental health and wellbeing. Their website includes information about borderline personality disorder, what it is, symptoms, causes, and how to find support.
Children of Parents with a Mental Illness
Different types of mental illness – Borderline personality disorder
Children of Parents with a Mental Illness provides information for parents with a mental illness, their family, friends, and children, as well as training courses for professionals supporting families. Their website includes information about borderline personality disorder, symptoms, and what children can expect to experience.
Project Air
https://www.uow.edu.au/project-air/
Project Air is a University of Wollongong research project exploring compassionate, evidence-based treatment and recovery for people with personality disorders and related conditions. Their website includes a range of factsheets providing information about different personality disorders and how to access support for individuals, friends, families, schools, and health professionals.
Australian BPD Foundation Limited
https://www.bpdfoundation.org.au/
The Australian BPD Foundation is a group of volunteers providing information to individuals, carers, clinicians, and researchers about borderline personality disorder. This is an informational site only, developed by peers.
Tools commonly used
Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI)
Tolerating Distress
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Tolerating-Distress
The Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) is a clinical psychological service providing information and self-help workbooks and modules on a range of mental health issues. Their website includes a workbook and information sheets on tolerating distress, strategies for managing distress or uncomfortable feelings more effectively.
Common Co-occurring Disorders
Depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder
Beyond Blue
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Beyond Blue provides information and support to Australians living with anxiety or depression. Their website includes information to help people achieve their best possible mental health, to support a friend or family member, and ways to access support. Beyond Blue also provides counselling support online, via email and over the phone.
Mindspot
Depression and Anxiety courses
The MindSpot Clinic is a digital mental health clinic providing information and online treatment courses for adults experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and chronic pain. Their website includes online assessment, feedback and therapist support through their online treatment courses.
Substance Abuse
Counselling Online
https://www.counsellingonline.org.au/
Counselling Online is a telephone and online counselling service for alcohol and other drug users, their family and friends. They also provide self-help modules and information on understanding addiction, making change and finding support.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation
The alcohol and drug foundation provides information, tools and ideas to reduce the harm of alcohol and other drugs. Their website includes information on alcohol guidelines, talking about drugs, drug facts and reducing risks.
Eating Disorders
Butterfly Foundation
The Butterfly Foundation provides online and telephone counselling, referral, support, psychoeducation, information and moderated online support groups for anyone needing guidance with an eating disorder. Their website provides information and support to individuals, their friends, family and health professionals.
Inside Out Institute for Eating Disorders
https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/#gsc.tab=0
Inside Out is a national eating disorder research and clinical excellence institute providing online screening, assessment tools, information, and resources for individuals with eating disorders and their supports. They also provide training, resources and information of health professionals and researchers.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This Way Up
Post-traumatic Stress Program
https://thiswayup.org.au/courses/the-post-traumatic-stress-course/
This Way Up provides a suite of online CBT courses and information on a range of issues relating to mental health and wellbeing, including a post-traumatic stress course. The course can be undertaken with a clinician’s assistance and teaches practical strategies for managing recurrent flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety following a traumatic event.
MindSpot Clinic
PTSD course
https://mindspot.org.au/ptsd-course
Among the courses available on the MindSpot Clinic is a PTSD course helping adults manage psychological and emotional symptoms resulting from experiencing a traumatic event. The course aims to help users break unhelpful habits and learn practical skills to help manage their symptoms.
Self-harm and Suicidal Thoughts
eMHPrac have published a blog and fact sheet which list a range of digital interventions to facilitate work with clients experiencing thoughts of deliberate self-harm or suicide. Psychoeducation, safety planning toolkits, help-seeking tools, modular self-help programs, and crisis counselling services delivered over a variety of modalities offer clients accessibility and discretion. Digital services also can be used as a treatment adjunct to target underlying risk factors and foster protective factors for suicide or self-harm.
View or download the Digital Mental Health for Thoughts About Suicide and Self-Harm practitioner factsheet here: https://www.emhprac.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Digital-Mental-Health-for-Thoughts-About-Suicide-and-Self-Harm.pdf
Read the full Digital Mental Health for Suicide Prevention blog article here: https://www.emhprac.org.au/news/digital-mental-health-for-suicide-prevention/
Forums
Sane Australia
https://saneforums.org/?_ga=2.36904997.48656598.1632956085-778143820.1611812950
In addition to information, the Sane Australia website provides peer support through online forums on sharing lived experience, advice and information of individuals, friends, family and carers.
Beyond Blue
The Beyond Blue website, in addition to providing information and resources for depression and anxiety, provides peer support through online forums. The Beyond Blue forums cover a range of topics including Borderline Personality Disorder.
For Health Professionals
Blue Knot Foundation
Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of Borderline Personality Disorder
The Blue Knot Foundation has developed and published a guideline for complex trauma. The Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of Borderline Personality Disorder assists health professionals to diagnose, treat and manage BPD in adolescent and adult patients.
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