‘My husband and I were privileged to attend BIGSPD 2024 in the ICC Conference Centre Belfast which ran from 18 th -20 th June. We joined other CAUSE members, who also care for loved ones with Personality Disorder, and our supporting CAUSE Carer Advocates, who presented alongside the PD and self-harm service of BHSCT, on their joint psycho- educational course model, and who adeptly manned the CAUSE stall, to establish networks with other services and delegates.
The conference was well organised with some lovely lunches and two evening events in the Titanic and the City Hall. We were treated to some traditional tastes at the dinner and delicate canapes, with music and dancing!
We are parents/carers for our daughter aged 31years old, who experiences emotional dysregulation and psychotic episodes, with resultant self-sabotaging and inappropriate coping behaviours. We sought to learn about the most up to date research, and to gain practical tips in navigating the therapeutic field. As carers, we want a better knowledge of what works and how to access it.
The programme was comprised of the main key addresses in the larger conference arena, and the smaller parallel workshops which we all juggled between us to attend, so that we would gain the most overview and insight into innovative practice.
There was also an art exhibition upstairs with samples of art and creativity. As a dedicated group, we wished to reflect the difficulties that carers face, and chose to do so by linking our stories with the Belfast born CS Lewis, and his book, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Both our material banner and our poster attracted lots of “views” and several delegates lifted our pamphlet of poems and reflections on the “Carers Journey in Narnia”.
The emphasis for us as carers, is often around issues of autonomy, confidentiality and consent, and the exploration of trauma induced symptoms. Carers often find themselves going above and beyond, and they subsequently, experience their own symptoms of withdrawal, burn out, isolation, and even trauma induced symptoms of their own. Topics that provided us with the most interest, were those aimed at a fuller assessment and identification of EUPD and practical therapeutic evidence-based practice.
Those that inspired us the most:
- ICD-11. Aspects of personality functioning that are used to determine the presence and severity of Personality Disorder.
- A workshop with a girl with lived experience, who shared her personal strategies for self-empowerment. This involved harnessing her strengths, overcoming self-stigma, developing self-compassion and challenging her inner critic. Her personal toolbox included journaling, recovery focussed therapy, advocating for change, re-entering employment, menstrual cycle awareness, and acupuncture.
- The creation of “safe spaces for connection”, and the power of peer support. We heard about the “Donegal wellness cafes”, facilitated by trained peers.
- Somatics and the power of body movement in self-assessment and self-regulation.
- Creativity initiatives through the Arts and drama, along with psychodrama therapy itself.
Our attendance at the conference has provided us with a better understanding of ourdaughters’ behavioural patterns and of what it truly means to have emotional vulnerability/ dysregulation. We are equipped with some new strategies and ideas for research that we can follow up with CAUSE’s support. We hope to be able to attend BIGSPD in Liverpool next year! We continue to be grateful for all that CAUSE do to support carers in Northern Ireland, and to have received this opportunity to be at the top end of latest research.’
Click on “Carers Journey in Narnia” to read in full
