UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY DISORDERS
BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS
Do you struggle to fit in or feel like the black sheep in different groups that you are a part of?
Do you wonder what it feels like to belong to a larger community?
Do you feel challenged in regulating your emotions and managing therapeutic boundaries when containing distress in therapy relationships?
Join us as we take a closer look at these questions. We are offering a 24-hour-long interactive webinar, spread out over 12 weeks, to develop a shared understanding of personality disorders/complex difficulties beyond the diagnosis.
The webinar focuses on the levels of distress one experiences across contexts and what that could evoke in others. Further, it takes a closer look at the roles one may unwittingly embody in larger groups. The program is co-produced with people who have lived experiences, who can share their knowledge and understanding of how these can be harnessed, to build a collaborative therapeutic environment that prioritizes each individual’s unique story. We will look at what it means to engage with and work with people who have complex difficulties, using therapeutic community principles and relational framework to support them.
We invite you to explore what it means to work in groups and identify the different positions you occupy in groups. If you are interested in understanding the different dynamics that play out in varied group settings, recognizing the location of disturbance from a systemic perspective, examining critically the power structures in mental health systems, learning to use your inner world in offering care and support in therapeutic contexts, and bringing to light the invisible wall that separates clinicians from those experiencing complex emotional and relational difficulties in different settings, this program is for you!
This year the course has been structured across two modules, combining an in-person experiential workshop followed by the webinar.
Module 1 is the Living Learning Experience (LLE) workshop happening from 26th to 28th January 2024 in Greenara Farms, Calicut. This is a residential workshop wherein participants come together to co-create a transient therapeutic community, an evidence-based intervention for persons diagnosed with personality disorders/complex difficulties.
Module 2 is a 12 week interactive webinar spanning 24 hours on understanding personality disorders beyond the diagnosis. All sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Assessments will be in the form of reflective essays.
1. Distress over Diagnosis
Systemic View on Personality Development
Personality Disorder in the Indian Context
2. Location of Disturbance
Family and Society
The Black Sheep
3. Personality Disorder/Difficulties in the Therapy Context
Stigma and Prejudice, Fears and Challenges, Transference and Countertransference
Boundaries
4. Risk Management and Support
Risk vs Crisis, Communication in Distress
Containment and Safety in Relationships
5. Therapeutic Support
Assessment – Bottom Up Approach/Collaborative Care
Philosophy and Principles of Relational Practice
6. Therapeutic Journeys
Relapse and Growth
Recovery vs Discovery