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Congressional Hearings Focus Attention
on Borderline Personality Disorder
May 8, 2007
Organized by NEABPD in cooperation with
Congressional Co-Sponsors:
Tom Davis (R-VA) and Nita Lowey (D-NY)
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Excerpts from comments by: Jim Breiling, Ph.D.
Program Head – Psychopathology, Behavioral Dysregulation, and
Measurement Development Program
Adult Psychopathology & Psychosocial Intervention Branch
Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment
Development (DATR)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) |
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May 9, 2007 -- As the time yesterday approached the
12:30 start of the briefing, Congressional staff began
to arrive at the meeting room in the Capitol. Soon my
expectation that perhaps 20 staff would attend was
fulfilled. I thought that was quite successful for an
initial foray into informing Members of Congress and
their staffs about the disorder.
More staff came. All the seats filled. This was far
beyond my expectations. Still more came. The standing
room space in the meeting room filled. And still more
came, clustering around the door to the meeting room. I
counted more than 60 staff. Incredible!
Both in and outside the room, staff listened
attentively. Their good questions demonstrated
engagement. Two Congressmen came near the conclusion of
the briefing and spoke.
The briefing was rich in information and very powerful
in presenting the burden of suffering that the disorder
inflicts and other problems relating to the disorder,
e.g., not getting diagnosed and then not having access
to helpful treatment. (While there are helpful
treatments – DBT was singled out for well deserved
recognition - the need for more effective treatments,
psychological and biological, is unquestionable.)
Presenters spoke from text or from Power Point and the
briefing was video taped, so I'll only touch on some of
the high points.
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In Perry Hoffman's welcome and
orientation to the briefing, a question and the
answer set the foundation for me for the
elaboration of impacts and needs:
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What does borderline mean? |
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There is nothing borderline about the
illness; |
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the suffering, |
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the inaccessibility to
care, |
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the gaps in our knowledge, |
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the need for
research, |
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the impact of the illness on others. |
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| The next presenter was Tami, a consumer of courage, who began her articulate and moving story of the experience and impacts of the serious mental illness that is borderline personality disorder, by engaging staff with the reality that this illness can and does strike within the ranks of staff and their friends and acquaintances. |
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"My name is Tami and I have Borderline Personality
Disorder.
Some 20 years ago, I walked these very halls,
lobbying and educating Congress. I went on to
raise a family and have had a very successful
like as a corporate salesperson and business
consultant.
My IQ is in the 130s range; I am well-educated
and well-spoken and have been very effective in
many areas of life. It would be hard to notice
that I am SEVERELY impaired in some key areas of
brain functioning. Ironically, while my brain
allows me to remain comfortable presenting to
Members of Congress, the part of my brain that
controls my emotions, and the part that helps
with impulse control, do not work. Imagine if
your brain replayed over and over and over again
the most horrifying tragedies of your life, the
saddest moments, the loneliest times, and they
became your reality each and every day. That has
been my life." |
The next presenter, Stacey, a mother whose younger (now
19 years old) daughter has borderline personality
disorder, began by engaging the Congressional staff
about the seriousness of the disorder and the challenges
that the manifestations of the disorder present for
parents and others:
"Some years back I watched a friend’s mother die of Lou
Gehrig’s disease. The image of that smart vibrant woman
losing the ability to interact with the world and in
essence becoming a fully aware prisoner of her own body
affected me profoundly. I thought there could be no
worse disease. I was wrong.
My younger daughter suffers from a disease wherein her
body functions normally, but her emotions hold her
prisoner and prevent her from having normal, easy
interactions with the world around her. For years no one
around her understood the emotional storm raging within
her that she struggled to live through and in spite of
every day. We did not recognize her struggle for the
heroic effort it was; instead we often judged her as
self-absorbed, lacking in self control and self
discipline and above all a major drama queen." |
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| The concluding presenter, Robert Friedel, M.D., drew
upon his wide and deep expert knowledge about borderline
personality disorder research and his extensive clinical
experience in treating it and in presenting about the
disorder, to engage the staff in the science and
clinical arenas. His presentation was more than that of
a highly competent professional. It was also, as Dr.
Friedel said to the group, personal -- he lost a sister
to the illness. |
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