Help Is On Hand for Family Members of People with Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder or Depression

PHILADELPHIA (9/6/13) – A popular Philadelphia family workshop is coming to Delaware County, Pa., to help family members of people with borderline personality, bipolar or depressive disorders deal with their many challenges, including substance abuse. “Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster” Family Skill-Building Workshop will be held at a convenient location in Wallingford, and will run for 10 consecutive Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., beginning September 19, 2013, and ending November 21, 2013. Sponsored by the Training and Education Center (TEC) of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the training will be facilitated by a licensed therapist specializing in caregiver issues, a trainer who is also in recovery from bipolar disorder, and a graduate of the workshop who mentors other family members. The cost is nominal.

“Hearing people with these disorders tell their stories, and the workshop’s emphasis on what we can do to promote recovery and not inhibit it, were the most helpful aspects for me,” said one father, who took the workshop with his wife last year. His 31-year old son’s depression led the son to move back home in 2007. “You need hope, and it’s also great to know you’re not alone. You’re part of a larger community dealing with this,” the father said. And a father of a 40-year old daughter with borderline personality disorder commented, “After the workshop, things with my daughter became easier and clearer. What I was doing before had been part of the problem.”

TEC Director, Edie Mannion, M.F.T.– who created the training with Talya Lewis, a peer educator who has lived experience of borderline personality disorder – named the workshop based on how many times in her 32-year family therapy career she has heard family members say, “I feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster!” “I wanted to help them at least get some brakes and a steering wheel,” Mannion said.

Workshop participants will get support, key information about these disorders, and skills such as preventing caregiver burnout, regulating their emotions, validating others’ emotions, observing their limits and dealing with crises such as self-injury, suicidal thinking or potentially violent behavior. “We wanted to give family members the sense of control that comes from knowing how to handle the twists and turns, and having hope that things can eventually get better,” Mannion said.

Registration is required. Contact Edie Mannion: 267-507-3863 or emannion@mhasp.org

The mission of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania is to “promote groundbreaking ideas and create opportunities for resilience and recovery by applying the knowledge learned from the people we support, employ, and engage in transformative partnerships.”

Press contact: Edie Mannion, 610-247-3529 (cell); 267-507-3863 or emannion@mhasp.org