Lived Experience Forum

[Former-Member]

Hi @Abner, thank you for joining tonight. It's awful to have our experiences invalidated or disbelieved after trauma - something none of us should have to go through. 

I hope you have now, or will have with time, people in your life who are wholly supportive, validating, and caring - as you deserve 💗

[TideisTurning]

It's great you've found some people who truly 'see', despite coming across so many who don't @BPDSurvivor. I can definitely see from what you've said where it might be helpful to try to persist. It is possibly to find what treatment and professional clicks, even if it might not always seem possible.

[BPDSurvivor]

@M_P90 - the hardest thing for me to hear is when people say they are 'treatment-resistant'. It really upsets me because in a way, once people are told they are 'treatment-resistant', there is no need to continue hoping.

You can have a very good therapist, but if they are not a good fit, recovery will be hindered.

Conversely, you can have a not-so-experienced therapist, and if they are a good fit, both parties will benefit.

I've experienced both. 

But certainly, individuals should not be made to feel unsafe in a session.

[BPDSurvivor]

Hi @Abner , great to see you online tonight.

[TideisTurning]

Safety is super important @M_P90. I feel like that absence of a sense of safety can be a huge barrier or inhibitor to effective therapy/ treatment! 

[puzzlingdino]

@M_P90 That's a really valuable insight and something that I agree maybe not enough people are aware of. Your post does a great job of summing up some important considerations when dealing with professionals. 

[M_P90]

"Treatment resistant" is a very dubious term. I say this as mental health professional as well as someone with lived experience. MH professionals need to be aware of the power imbalance between themselves and service users. "Treatment resistant" can be a cop out for bad or inflexible practice. Not always! But in the case of a professional who is not reflective and particularly aware of the power imbalance, it can be a cop out.

[TideisTurning]

There’s a lot of stigma and negative stereotypes  about BPD which may cause some hesitation to engage with treatment and clinicians. @Alex_Spectrum what would you say to someone with these kinds of fears?   
 
@BPDSurvivor Has stigma impacted seeking support. How did you deal with that? 

@Fluttershy1- this might also answer some of your earlier questions! 😊 If you or others have any other insights on this, feel free to share!

[Former-Member]

Love everything you said there @M_P90! So true.

To add to that, if anyone has had a concerning experience (e.g. harmful or unethical practice) with a psychologist, you can submit a formal complaint to AHPRA, who can hold clinicians to account.

[Alex_Spectrum]

@TideisTurning Stigma is something that we often see impacting on clients and on the way they are treated by others. Common beliefs that I have heard include beliefs that people with BPD are being manipulative or attention seeking. I also often hear people say that people with BPD are untreatable.  

I can only imagine how hard it must be having to come up against these kinds of attitudes. What I would say is that I think this is slowly changing and hopefully over time we can get the right information out to the public. The more we can speak about BPD and dispel these myths the better.

What I would also say is that there are lots of great people who do not believe in these attitudes and want to work with people with BPD. I work at Spectrum because I want to work with people with a diagnosis of BPD and this is true for many others.