Ditch the Disorder - Discover the differences between Autism and Borderline Personality Disorder

Event price: £85.00 Early Bird rate until 1st September 2023/£110 standard rate

Booking details: www.physisscotland.co.uk

Course Outline: Many Autistic people are misdiagnosed with a Borderline (or Emotionally Unstable) Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD), particularly girls and women. This diagnosis often relies on the decision of one clinician, which can be made during a short outpatient consultation (or equivalent). People with a “personality disorder” are often referred to as “overly dramatic, needy, attention-seeking, unreliable, abusive”, and “to be avoided at all costs.” In contrast to an BPD/EUPD diagnosis, an Autism diagnosis is much more stringent. However, when a person who has been misdiagnosed as “personality disordered” is subsequently assessed and diagnosed as Autistic, in accordance with the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, their stigmatising BPD/EUPD misdiagnosis can remain relevant, very often to their detriment. As an expert witness and psychotherapist in advanced clinical training, Cathie works with Autistic women who have experienced immense trauma because professionals prefer to accept their previous BPD/EUPD diagnosis.   

In this one-day workshop, Cathie and Esther will cover important issues which counsellors and therapists need to consider when working with clients who might fit the stereotype of BPD/EUPD, when the reality is they might be Autistic. During the day Esther, who is an Autistic mother, will share her experiences of how her former misdiagnosis of BPD significantly influenced how professionals perceived her ability to be a good enough parent. All too often, Autistic people get stuck with a misdiagnosis that is “even more reviled and misunderstood than Autism” which incurs experiences of discrimination and marginalisation, and notably it is “many therapists’ least favourite condition to work with” (Price, 2022).   

“Instead of categorising individuals as ‘disordered’, there is a need for a more affirming, validating, and empowering model which focuses on the individual’s functional, understandable, healthy, and resilient survival responses” (Hari, 2019).