Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Rocky1]

Hi forum world

I am looking for tips for practitioners specialising in diagnosis and therapy for adolescents with possible Borderline Personality Disorder, in the north shore of Sydney.

I have a 14 boy with some significant emotional and behavioural difficulties.  We have tried numerous counsellors, and he has been very resistant, and they have been quite uncertain.

A friend with expertise in adolescent psychology has raised the possibility of BPD, but suggested it is a complex case.

I primarily want to explore that diagnosis - so I am looking for a practitioner with great diagnostic care, skill and experience.

Thanks for any tips!

Kind Regards

Rocky1

[Rockpool]

Hello @Rocky1,

A warm welcome to the SANE forums

Thank you for sharing your situation with your son.  I would imagine that things have been stressful in trying to find an appropriate counsellor for your son and trying to manage his resistence. 

Getting an assessment of his mental health sounds like a great idea if he is willing to participate. Unfortunately, we are unble to give you recommendations for practitoners on the forums as it breaches the guidelines.  However if you are wanting to find a psychologist in the North Shore area of Sydney that potentially works with BPD and adolescents, you may like to try the Australian Psychological Society (APS) or the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) for a psychiatrist.

Australian Psychological Society (APS)

www.psychology.org.au 

1800 333 497

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)

www.ranzcp.org/Mental-health-advice/find-a-psychiatrist.aspx 

1800 337 448

I hope these agencies will be able to give you some more information about locating a professional in your area that will be able to assist your son.

I look forward to 'seeing' you around the forums soon

Take care 

[Appleblossom]

Are you the father? @Rocky1 Do you have other children to manage in the one family .. or are there blended family set ups.

When my son was 14 he was totally resistant, refused school ..and blocked everything and everyone, except the computer. It made it very difficult for me to get help, so I had to wirk around him. I tried to get various 'professionals' who would visit the house ... but they were simply not up to the task of dealing with my son .. so all fell by the wayside.

I would pursue help from health professionals but not put all my eggs in that basket. I really believe diagnosis is an art and not a science .. and certainty never assured when dealing with living and breathing, alive and kicking human beings.

I recently was in a story telling workshop where a father told an interesting story about playing 'pirate' with his son ... not to justify piratical wickedness .. but involving father & son bonding and PLAY as part of the way out of a dynamic that may get locked into a power struggle or result in a child feeling labelled.

Good luck ... with getting mental health people.

Apple

[Rocky1]

Thanks Apple, for your support and advice.  I am sorry to hear of your struggles, and I hope things have improved for you.

I love the advice about engaging in play with a child as a way of breaking out of a toxic dynamic - just as I loved the story in the Herald a fortnight ago about a teenager's depression being addressed through deep discussions with his father while rock climbing together.

Regrettably, those strategies seem utterly useless right now.  We are in a phase in which our son cannot tolerate being in our presence, and cannot talk to us without hostile abuse. Right now, the concept of games with my son feels absurdly remote.

I am sure you are correct in your advice about being wary of the objectivity, certainty and significance of a diagnostic label.  (And I can sometimes feel the silly temptation of thinking that the problem will be solved when someone puts a label on it).  But I am feeling at the moment that we must explore and select a new approach;  and that the right diagnosis might be critical to that selection;  and that we have to work with the best diagnosis we can get (even if we can't be sure it is necessarily right). 

I hold no hope that our son will attend any sessions with any practitioner we find, at least in the short term.  But I have prepared very detailed written observations for provision to the practitioner, and I hope we can get a working diagnosis, and that my wife and I can get guidance on helping to create the best environment we can to help our son (and hopefully generate an environment where we can play again)

By the way, we have a conventional family, with a younger daughter.

Kind regards

Rocky1