Research at Borderline Personality Disorder Collaborative

BPD Co has an active clinical research program which aims to address gaps in knowledge and practice for people with a diagnosis of BPD, their families and health professionals. We have a strong commitment to evaluating the effectiveness of our clinical programmes which may involve clinical trials of novel interventions through to ongoing quality assurance of routine service delivery. BPD Co aims to partner with tertiary institutions and stakeholder organisations to expand research in the field of personality disorders

The BPD Co model of care outlined several key performance indicators, which shape the goals of the research agenda: 

• improved access to appropriate early intervention services
• improved access to appropriate evidence-based services
• improved access to recovery-focussed services
• reduction in the level of suicide and deliberate self-harm by those who suffer from BPD
• decreased presentations to hospitals, including emergency departments, by BPD clients
• decreased experience of stigma and discrimination faced by those with a diagnosis of BPD.

The BPD Co research team includes:

• Associate Professor, Dr Paul Cammell, Research Lead
• Dr Dianna Bartsch, Research Coordinator (Monday, Tuesday and Friday)
• Dr Zoe Richards, Research Coordinator (Wednesday, Thursday)
• Sierra Magann, Project Officer – Research (Thursday)
• Bianca Harrison, Project Officer — Research (Wednesday, Friday)

If you are interested in collaborating with BPD Co on a research project, please contact us to discuss on health.bpdresearch@sa.gov.au.  

Current projects

Our current research projects include:

• Evaluation of a short-term group intervention for parents with borderline symptoms: Lifeboat
• Responding to crises for people with borderline personality disorder, from a student paramedic perspective
• Impact of co-delivered Foundational Borderline Personality Disorder training on clinician attitudes and skills over time
• Evaluation of a short-term group therapy program for people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder who have had contact with the criminal justice system

BPD Co training and clinical services are also monitored for quality assurance purposes.

Get involved

Participation in BPD Co research projects is voluntary. Service-users will be asked to read a sign an information participation sheet and consent form prior to participation. Please talk to your treating clinician if you have any questions or concerns about participating in research or service evaluations. Before consenting to participation, it can also be good to talk through with a trusted person in your life if you are unsure about the decision.

Have you attended a Foundation Skills workshop?

Evaluating our workshops is an important component of our training programs. We appreciate the time and energy that workshop participants give to completing our pre- and post-training questionnaires.

BPD Co is now undertaking an evaluation of the longer-term impact of our “Foundation Skills for working with people with BPD” workshop by asking previous participants to complete a brief online survey. This is an opportunity to share how you’ve applied what you learned from the training in your work, and to tell us about any additional support or resources you may need. Your feedback will help us improve future training and service development programs for those working with people with BPD.

If you have previously attended a Foundation Skills training, please keep an eye on your inbox over the coming months for your invitation to participate in this new project.

If your email address has changed since you attended, and would like to participate, please contact the research team to update your information.

You can reach the research team on (08) 7425 6500 or health.BPDresearch@sa.gov.au if you have any questions.

Further information about specific BPD Co projects is available below.

BPD Co publications

Below is a list of BPD Co publications developed by or in collaboration with research students, tertiary institutions, or partner organisations.

Research collaborations

Are you interested in contributing to understanding the needs of people with a diagnosis of BPD, their support people, and the broader health system?

We are open to supervising research projects from enthusiastic, high-achieving, and driven HDR students enrolled in a mental-health related University Degree and /or scholarly projects as part of Psychiatry Registrar Program.

Projects will be considered and weighted in relation to our research aims, model of care, and resource-availability. If you are interested in learning more, please contact the Research Coordinator at health.bpdresearch@sa.gov.au.

BPD Co has collaborated with partner organisations on the completed projects listed below.