UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY DISORDERS

BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS

Do you struggle to fit in or feel like the black sheep in the groups you are part of?
Do you wonder what it feels like to belong to a larger community?
Do you find it challenging to regulate your emotions and navigate therapeutic boundaries while holding distress in therapeutic relationships?

Join us as we take a closer look at these questions. This webinar is a 24-hour experiential programme exploring personality disorders and complex difficulties beyond diagnostic criteria.

Across 12 weeks, we will focus on the different forms of distress people experience in various contexts and the responses they may evoke in others. We will also explore the roles one may unknowingly take up within groups.

This webinar is co-produced by therapists and people with lived experiences of mental health systems, with the hope of bringing together different perspectives to build collaborative, therapeutic environments that prioritise each individual’s story. This year, the webinar will also feature guest speakers who will offer insight into what it means to engage with and support people with complex difficulties using therapeutic community principles and relational approaches.

We invite you to explore what it means to work within groups and reflect on the different positions you may occupy within them. This programme may be of interest to those who want to better understand group dynamics across different settings, examine distress from a systemic perspective, and critically reflect on power structures within mental health systems. It may also resonate with those interested in learning how to draw on their inner world while offering care and support in therapeutic contexts, and in exploring the often-unspoken divide between clinicians and those experiencing complex emotional and relational difficulties.

The webinar will be conducted online via Zoom. The space is structured to not follow a top-down format of learning and instead rely on shared knowledge built on experiences, thoughts, associations and critiques.

Participants will submit their reflections based on their learning and journey through the 12 weeks at the end of the webinar as a requirement for completion.

Themes We Will Explore

1. Distress over Diagnosis

Go beyond labels and explore personality disorder diagnoses through a cultural lens, using critical psychiatric and psychotherapeutic perspectives. This module situates diagnosis within the Indian context, unpacking diagnostic clusters and varied presentations of personality distress while moving beyond the dominant Borderline/EUPD narrative.

2. Location of Disturbance

Where does the disturbance truly lie — within the individual, in relationships, or in the systems surrounding them? This module invites a deeper exploration of how personality distress is shaped by developmental, familial, and socio-cultural contexts.

3. Personality Difficulties in the Therapy Room

Step into the lived realities of therapeutic work with clients experiencing personality difficulties. This module focuses on transference, rupture, containment, and the challenges of sustaining therapeutic alliance in complex clinical spaces.

4. Therapeutic Support

Discover integrative pathways of care that extend beyond traditional talk therapy. From art therapy and group work to other creative and relational approaches, this module offers practical pathways to therapeutic support.

5. Risk Management & Support

Develop confidence in client safety, de-escalation strategies, and practitioners’ capacity to tolerate distress. This module covers safety planning, de-escalation skills, and building sensory support tools for both physical and virtual therapeutic settings.

6. Therapeutic Journeys

Explore the longer arc of healing through relationships, groups, and diverse service pathways in India. This closing module reflects on relational practice, continuity of care, and how therapeutic journeys unfold over time.

When is it happening?

Dates: 1st June to 17th August 2026 

Timings: Mondays, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Facilitators:

Neelam Khawani-Connett, Nishalya Hemavathy, Chandni Ganesh, Pratiksha Tewari, Krishna Hemaraj, and Debashree Unni

This year, we will also have guest speakers coming in to cover different modules.

What is the required investment?

₹12,000 for the entire course (for Indian participants)

£95 for the entire course (for International participants)

For more information about the webinar and enquiries about scholarship seats, please write to krishna@hanknunninstitute.org