MHT02 – Personality Disorder / EUPD Training

Personality Disorder psychology & psychiatry is a complex area of medicine. This workshop will help organisations and staff better-understand and manage the vulnerabilities and behaviours associated with the EUPD and Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis.

It will improve client safety and staff interactions through a better understanding of client sensitivities, typical clinical traps and potential risk scenarios. It will improve interactions, advocacy and influence safeguarding in numerous ways.

The training considers personality disorder within the field of general psychiatry. Most individuals with EUPD diagnosis present with a range of mental health needs and comorbidities. Despite this, patients with ‘PD’ diagnosis may be excluded from certain services – they may experience discrimination due to the nature and confusion that surrounds their symptoms and behaviours. This training helps you challenge potential prejudice and to ensure that vulnerable patients receive the care they need.

VIew Frequently Asked Questions About This Course

We are the UK’s leading providers of personality disorder training. All training is delivered by psychiatry-trained facilitators.

Overview of the training

Understanding the psychological, emotional and behavioural vulnerabilities associated with Personality Disorder diagnosis
Better-understand the internalised world of an individual with personality disorder symptoms, particularly Borderline Personality Disorder / EUPD, Dissocial & Antisocial Personality Disorder
Understand attachment seeking in relation to self-harm risk
Knowledge, insights and formulations to improve understanding of common presentations, trigger events, common vulnerabilities, common perpetuating factors and protective factors that can mitigate risk.
Improved communication skills and relationships
Communication strategies and skills to better-support individuals vulnerable to BPD / EUPD. Improving the effectiveness of advice and strategies to support mental wellbeing, reduce self-defeating behaviours and improve outcomes for all
Risk stratification to improve general safeguarding
Skills to maintain boundaries and manage expectations whilst still maintaining healthy relationships
Skills to manage conflict to improve staff confidence and improve patient / staff relationships
Skills to improve patient safeguarding and safety planning
Advocacy skills – confidence to challenge any negative or prejudicial responses from support organisations and services
Associated externalising personality disorders and forensic risk factors, particularly the factors associated with violence risk where indicated
Risk assessment processes – Using the HCR-20 and other risk assessment models
Keeping staff safe – learning from other’s mistakes and developing a safe model of lone working, reporting and interjectional / communication models to support lone-working risk management
Understanding and recognising the symptoms associated with non-externalising personality disorders.

The training can include a more detailed focus on safeguarding and self-harm support if required. This commonly includes

Care planning and assessment of individuals vulnerable to self-harm risk
The functions of self-injury and its relationship with personality disorder and the risk factors for suicide – improving risk assessments and safety planning
Improving insights, communication skills and fine-tuning the suicide assessment conversation. Understanding the limitations and obligations of the NHS / CMHT / Local authority. Particularly in relation to capacity, right to privacy, duty of care to protect life and the Mental Health Act 1989
Escalating concerns to CMHT, the safeguarding roles of the AMHP and the Police

This training is delivered by psychiatry-trained experts

This training is delivered by facilitators trained in psychiatry. We specialise in psychiatric illness and abnormal psychology, personality disorder and stress-related illness training. We offer a wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills with high quality, integrated evidence-based training that you can trust

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Frequently Asked Questions about EUPD/Personality Disorder Training

What is EUPD?

EUPD is a shorthand term for Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. It is more commonly known as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). EUPD / BPD are clinically recognised psychiatric disorders.

The associated symptoms and vulnerabilities characterised by problems in attachment anxiety, distorted thinking, fragile self-identity / self-worth, poorly regulated emotions and complex / unstable interpersonal relationships and self-defeating impulsivities are common to the disorder and challenge support providers in numerous ways.

The EUPD diagnosis has now been retired in the World Heath Organisation’s ICD system and replaced by ‘Personality disorder and related traits’.

This category of disorders identifies 6 subtypes including Borderline, Negative Affect and Dissociality.

The DSM 5 system identifies 10 types of personality disorder with Borderline Personality Disorder presenting the most significant challenges to the mental health and social care system and families in general.

The majority of patients supported in the UK mental health and social care system still maintain the diagnosis of EUPD and typically present with a range of other psychiatric disorders that run concurrently.

What does this training cover?

This training is always tailored to support specific learning objectives. Our specialist facilitators have years of experience and maintain a considerable depth of knowledge to guide your learning, resolve many of your challenges, improve the lives of individuals with personality disorder vulnerabilities and support you through this complex field.

Teams can face a range of challenges when supporting individuals with personality diagnosis and symptoms. Emotional intensity and dysregulation, sudden changes in behaviour, general conflict and hostility, self-harm and safeguarding risk and difficulties maintaining appropriate boundaries. Staff may also experience confusion when behaviours seem inconsistent or when usual support strategies do not work. The training will provide education and skills that go a long way towards resolving many of the challenges that you, or your organisation faces.

This training offers a deep, clinical understanding of the psychological and behavioural factors associated with the EUPD / BPD diagnosis and associated personality difficulties. It offers a unique insights and skills to support individuals presenting with emotional and behavioural dysregulation, emotional pain, self-defeating impulsivities, complex interpersonal relationships and behaviours that trigger safeguarding concerns.

Does the training offer practical skills? Or is it theory based?

The training is a mix of theory and practice. It provides an expert-led overview of the psychology and vulnerabilities common to personality disorder psychiatry. Practical support skills feature strongly in the training. From risk assessments to safeguarding and safety planning, general advocacy, improved conversational strategies and dedicated skills-based training / appropriate psychotherapy. The training will answer all of your questions and offers evidenced based skills and strategies dedicated to the support of individuals with personality difficulties and fluctuating mental wellbeing.

Can the training be expanded?

This training can be expanded in a number of specific ways. The following modules can be blended into the training:

Self-harm and suicide risk assessment and safeguarding
Ligature training
Dialectic Behaviour Therapy and appropriate psychotherapy
Forensic mental health awareness, risk assessment and risk management
Managing difficult situations and conversations (including lone working)
Violence risk management and staff safeguarding
CQC regulation guidance and support. Including policy development, good governance, environmental safety, best interests assessments, risk assessment, risk management practice, enhanced staff training and general safeguarding.

Can this training help my team manage risk more effectively?

Yes. Many risk-related concerns such as impulsivity, self-harm, aggression, vulnerability to exploitation or difficulties in relationships can be better understood through a personality-informed perspective. The course introduces structured ways of assessing risk, recognising triggers and identifying protective factors so that staff can feel more confident and consistent in their decision-making. If you are unsure how the risk content relates to your environment, please contact us for more information.

Does this training improve communication with individuals who have EUPD traits?

Yes. A key feature of this course is learning communication techniques that support calmer, clearer and safer interactions. You will explore ways to reduce misunderstandings, respond to emotional distress, maintain appropriate boundaries and avoid common conversational pitfalls. These skills help build trust while protecting staff wellbeing. If you want advice on how these communication strategies apply to your team, please contact us.

Can this course help my team reduce stigma and improve advocacy for individuals with personality disorders?

It can. People with personality disorder-related needs are often misunderstood and may receive inconsistent or unfair responses from services. This training helps staff challenge unhelpful assumptions, understand the lived experience behind the behaviour and advocate confidently for appropriate support. This leads to safer and more compassionate practice across teams. If you would like guidance on how this training could strengthen your organisation’s approach, please reach out through the contact page.

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