Personality:People and Pathology
A course introducing keyconcepts and approaches to working with people diagnosable with “personality
disorder” (PD)
Meeting Monthly from September 2004 to July 2005
Venue: Friends Meeting House 43 St Giles Oxford OX1 3LW
Agencies working with this client group have long recognised their unique problems and are familiar with the difficulties providing an effective service for them. Professionals often feel ill equipped or isolated, and burnout is a common consequence. With the recent publication of Health Policy Implementation Guidance
‘Personality Disorder: No longer a diagnosis of exclusion’, mental health service providers will be expected to provide services tailored to the needs of this particular group, and to employ workers who are skilled in this field.This course was developed in response to the need for a skills and theory course relevant to all practitioners working with people with personality problems and disorders, as laid out in the NIMHE “Capabilities Framework – Breaking the Cycle of Rejection” document. This course is an excellent opportunity to work with NHS and independent specialists in all aspects of treatment and service provision. The theoretical seminars provide an insight into recent developments and research outcomes. The clinical seminars are designed to develop your skills in your work. You will also gain group experience which is an essential element of working with people suffering with personality disorders. There is a residential weekend as part of the course, which will give participants the chance to experience a deeper understanding of this work by being part of a learning community.
What does this course provide?
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A theoretical base to understand the nature and clinical features of personality disorder•
An understanding of effective ways of working with people suffering with PD, and the evidence base forspecific treatments
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Skills and strategies to help deal with the particular stresses of this work•
Teaching from experienced specialists in the field•
Experience of user input to training•
The opportunity to experience group work and gain self observation and awareness skills that areessential in work with this client group
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Casework discussion and supervision•
The basis for further training in PD work•
Contact with a peer group of professionals from different backgrounds working with similar clientsWho is this course for?
Anyone working with clients with personality problems or disorders. This may include
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Mental health workers of all grades•
Social workers•
Criminal justice professionals:probation officers, prison officers, YOI
workers.
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Voluntary sector staff•
Addictions workers•
Housing sector workers, homelessnessteam staff
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Psychotherapists and counsellors•
GPs and primary care workersWhen is the course taking place?
The course is structured over two whole Wednesdays, nine Wednesday afternoons from September 2004 to
July 2005, and a residential weekend in Kent from Friday morning to Sunday mid-afternoon 14-16 January 2005.
Whole day sessions 22 September 2004; 6 July 2005
10.30 - 11.30 Introductions and opening session
12.00 - 13.00 Clinical Seminar and preparation for work discussion groups
13.00 - 13-45 Lunch
13.45 - 14.45 Theoretical Seminar
15.00 – 16.00 Group Discussion
Afternoon sessions 13 October; 17 November; 8 December 2004; 12 January 2005; 2 February;
2 March; 6 April; 4 May; 1 June
13.15 – 13.30 Opening Training Community
13.30 – 14.30 Work Discussion Groups
14.45 – 16.15 Theoretical Seminar
16.30 – 17.30 Group Discussion
Seminar programme:
22 Sept 2004
All day induction
Whose disorder, whose problem? The concept of personality disorder and its current context.
Rex Haigh
13 October 2004*
Grace under duress: Morbidity assessment and management.
Steve Pearce, Warneford Hospital, Oxford
17 November 2004
Containing the uncontainable: the nature and size of the problem
Jane Knowles
8 December 2004
Personality: pathology or adaptation?
Fiona Blyth.
12 January 2005*
Recovery and Rehabilitation: Therapeutic Community Principles and Practice
SURGE
14-16 January 2005
Residential “Living-Learning Experience”
Commonwork Organic Farm,
Kent
2 February 2005
Dangerousness and Therapy: Containment by relationship and understanding
David Jones
2 March 2005
Skills and Strategies: Grappling with groups
Marion Panchkowry
6 April 2005
Skills and Strategies: Working one-to-one with individuals
Sandra Wiltshire
4 May 2005
Disturbance and Development: Psychodynamics and the internal world
Gwen Adshead
1 June 2005
Great Expectations: A review of the development of the field and future directions.
Steve Pearce,Rex Haigh, Marion Panchcowry, Fiona Blyth and others
6 July 2005*
All day event: Breaking the cycle of rejection: paving the way for change in practice
* these events will include morning sessions for those who have previously completed the course, and are
“cascading” PD awareness to their own areas and settings as “PD agents”
What is the Thames Valley Initiative?
The Thames Valley Initiative was formed by a group of clinicians working in the Thames Valley who specialise in helping people with personality problems and disorders. We are committed to developing services and lobbying for funding to promote research and provide specialist training for professionals working with this client group. Service users are involved in the planning and delivery of the course as part of our ethic of mutual respect and determination to challenge the stigma that often accompanies a diagnosis of personality disorder. The project received NIMHE funding as one of eleven national pilots in 2004, and this training is a part of that wider initiative.
Who are the course staff?
The course organisers are Rex Haigh, Steve Pearce and Fiona Blyth.
Rex Haigh is Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy in West Berkshire, PD Development Consultant NIMHE-SEDC and joint project lead, Thames Valley Initiative.
Steve Pearce is Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy in Oxford. He is Programme Director for the new PD service in Oxfordshire and joint project lead, Thames Valley Initiative.
Fiona Blyth is a UKCP registered Transactional Analysis psychotherapist. She worked in the NHS for many years, training first as a nurse, and later working in individual, group and therapeutic community settings as a Consultant Psychotherapist. She now practices independently as a trainer and supervisor.
Gwen Adshead is Honorary Senior Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy at Broadmoor Hospital.
David Jones is Lead Therapist on one of the therapeutic community wings at Grendon Underwood Prison.
Jane Knowles is a Consultant Psychotherapist in Psychotherapy, Chair of the Psychotherapy Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a training group analyst. She was responsible for developing the acclaimed PD services in West Berkshire.
Marion Panchkowry is a Principal Psychotherapist and Service Manager of the district psychotherapy service in Aylesbury. She is a Group Analyst.
Sandra Wiltshire is a clinical psychologist at Warneford Hospital, Oxford, who specialises in CBT and DBT.
SURGE is the “Service User Reference Group for England”, a group of ex-service users who have participated in many training events, seminars and advisory committees as “experts by experience”
How much does it cost?
The cost of the course is £750 each, which covers all literature, light refreshments and accommodation for the residential weekend.
For those working in the field of Personality Disorder, in the Thames Valley area (Oxfordshire,Berkshire, Buckinghamshire) all the costs except £50 towards the residential event will be met by the South East Development Centre of NIMHE.
How do I make a booking?
Places are limited and early booking is advised: the 2003/2004 course was over-subscribed. To secure your place, contact Fiona Blyth (
physis6@aol.com) and you will be sent an application form. It is important to stress that regular and punctual attendance is necessary: although the course is free at the point of delivery, to undertake it requires serious commitment. Those who need to make necessary arrangements with colleagues at work, managers and others are asked to bear this in mind. Upon satisfactory completion of the monthly course, a certificate of attendance will be issued. A similar certificate will also be awarded for the residential weekend, giving hours of study undertaken and other details.How will it change the way I work?
Here are some quotes from people who undertook the course in its first year, 2003-4:
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‘A very human approach – I left feeling more sympathetic to clients.’•
‘It felt less like “us versus them”’•
‘A very useful, even inspiring, opening up of our thinking about ‘madness’ treatment,personal freedom and responsibility’.
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‘I learned a lot about working with PD in the work discussion groups’•
‘A useful alternative to traditional care provision’•
‘Inspiring’•
‘Insight into others contact with clients helped in reducing feelings of isolation’Director: Dr Richard Ford, Chair: Julie Waldron
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