Untangling the interactions between complex trauma, personality disorder and neurodiversity
This advanced workshop will provide psychologists and community health workers with brief therapeutic treatments for people with BPD and/or complex trauma. The training will focus on the interaction between complex PTSD, personality disorder, and neurodiversity. The purpose of this training is to enhance understanding of complex trauma and associated diagnoses, neurodiverse disorders, and personality disorders.
The training provider, Spectrum, specialise in treating people with personality disorders, especially BPD. This expertise includes working with people who have complex care needs, managing significant clinical risk, and offering treatment using several evidence-based approaches.
To support integrated healthcare and appropriate referrals, GPs are also being offered a targeted workshop to develop their understanding of complex trauma, associated diagnoses (including neurodiverse disorders and personality disorders) and recognising presenting symptoms.
*This is a limited capacity workshop, so please register as soon as possible to secure a place*
Speaker information:
Associate Professor Sathya Rao is a psychiatrist and the Executive Clinical Director of Spectrum Personality Disorder Service. He is the Vice President of the Australian BPD Foundation. He is also an adjunct clinical associate professor at Monash University. Dr Rao is involved in clinical research and has published research papers, contributed chapters and co-authored books on borderline personality disorder. He was a member of the NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines development committee, 2012. He has taught clinicians across Australia and was the head of psychiatry training program of Victoria for the RANZCP previously. He is involved in treating complex personality disorder patients and provides second opinions and secondary consultations for complex clinical conditions associated with personality disorders. He was the recipient of the 2020 Meritorious Award of the Victorian Branch of RANZCP. In recognition of his contributions to psychiatry he received the award of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) (General Division) in June 2022.
Dr Lukas Cheney is the Deputy Clinical Director at Spectrum. He has training in Dialectal Behaviour Therapy and Mentalization Based Therapy and has a keen interest in research to improve our understanding of personality and associated disorders. In his work at Spectrum, Dr Cheney is involved in the most complex cases of personality disorder from across Victoria and to mental health services seeking consultation around Australia. Dr Cheney is a strong believer in a stepped care model of treatment for personality disorder and the idea that, with the right knowledge, any mental health clinician can engage therapeutically with a person living with personality disorder.