I feel guilty posting about this stuff here, since it’s not my stuff to talk about, it’s his.

anonymous mom, you’ve got to remember that although Rob does seem to have a lot of BPD symptoms, he’s also quite young and recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which complicates things. My brother is older than Rob, so he does have a long-standing behaviour pattern of BPD symptoms past, um, teenagerhood. I try not to play armchair psychologist for anybody except myself, though, so it’s not even like I believe firmly that my brother should definitely have one diagnosis or the other, or both, or neither, but I was pretty disgusted that he had so many BPD symptoms and no one was looking carefully at them, most likely because he’s a guy. This kind of sexism doesn’t help girls who get labelled with BPD for no reason, but it also doesn’t help guys whose BPD symptoms are ignored.

Anonymous mom, without knowing too much about your son’s situation, I’d have to agree with Polly. It’s always risky diagnosing personality disorders in teenagers, as teenagers in general exhibit the kinds of behaviours associated with BPD and other Cluster B disorders at a higher rate than do adults. To a certain extent it’s just part of growing up, especially when you have to grow up under challenging conditions, such as being dx’d with bipolar disorder.

I wish psychiatrists were more interested in identifying specific problematic areas of functioning (which may well include some of the various DSM criteria for BPD) and addressing these directly, rather than just reaching for the big grey book (or the big green book if your doc is psychoanalytically inclined) and slapping people with totalising and potentially very stigmatising diagnoses.

So here is the deal:

Join a small group of bloggers and interview the medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Harvard Medical School Professor Dr. Ken Duckworth. Triple board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Adult, Child and Adolescent, and Forensic Psychiatry, Dr. Duckworth has extensive experience in public health – in offices ranging from Acting Commissioner of Mental Health and the Medical Director for Department of Mental Health of Massachusetts to Medical Director of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center for eight years.
This news conference is one of a series of calls sponsored by Revolution Health designed to give bloggers access to world-class experts in their areas of interest. The call is informational; you are under no obligation to write about the conversation unless you find it useful. I’ve included more information about Dr. Duckworth and Revolution Health at the bottom of this message.

This week’s call is taking place in conjunction with the Revolution Online Health Fair , launched in partnership with 10 national nonprofit organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Health. At the fair, each nonprofit is hosting an online “booth.” For every visitor to a partner organization’s booth, Revolution Health will make a donation to that partner — for a total of up to $10,000.

Again:
WHAT: Conference call/news conference with Dr. Ken Duckworth
WHEN Friday June 29th, 2007 3 -4 PM EDT; 6 -7 PM PDT
WHERE: Conference Call – number to be provided
WHY: To answer questions on bipolar disorder.

We will also provide audio after the conference if you would like to post a link to that as well.

Please RSVP, either by email or telephone (see below) when you know if this is an opportunity that interests you.

Thanks. We’re looking forward to hearing from you. With best wishes,
Cynthia Samuels for Revolution Health
Email: cindy.samuels@revolution.com
Phone: 202.236-1844

About Revolution Health
Revolution Health (http://www.revolutionhealth.com) is the new health resource website founded by Steve Case, partly because of the difficulties he and his family faced during his brother’s battle with brain cancer. He wants to make it a bit easier for those who follow by providing tools to support both patient and family. I’m working with Revolution to support the work of bloggers who follow health issues. One way we’re doing that is by conducting these topical briefings, just for the blogger universe. Revolution wants to highlight its ability to aggregate and share critical information on health issues by providing new information and contact with health leaders in relevant disease communities.

More about Dr. Duckworth
Dr. Ken Duckworth serves as the medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Triple board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Adult, Child and Adolescent, and Forensic Psychiatry, Dr. Duckworth has extensive experience in the public health arena.
First serving as Acting Commissioner of Mental Health and the Medical Director for Department of Mental Health of Massachusetts, then as a psychiatrist on a Program Assertive Community Treatment team, Dr. Duckworth was also Medical Director of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center for eight years.
Dr. Duckworth won the award for Clinical Excellence from the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society as well as teaching awards from Boston University, for his work at Harvard Medical School, and from the American Psychiatric Association. He was also a recipient of the Ken and Rona Purdy Award for his work to combat stigma.
Dr. Duckworth attended the University of Michigan where he graduated with honors in 1981 and Temple University School of Medicine where he was named to the medical honor society, AOA. While at Temple, he won awards for his work in psychiatry and neurology.
Dr. Duckworth is currently an Assistant Professor at Harvard University Medical School. He is also a board member of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists.
Dr. Duckworth has served as a school consultant for a decade, has had an active private practice, and currently does community mental health work with Vinfen Corporation in Boston as their Medical Director.