In 2019, the Department of Health and the Victorian Chief Psychiatrist Office launched an innovative new pilot program (Personality Disorder Initiative, PDI) in six major public area mental health services in the State of Victoria, Australia. The aim of the pilot was to ascertain whether embedding specialist clinicians within these six services could build more capacity and confidence in diagnosing, supporting and treating people with personality disorders (PD) and whether this enhanced capacity would result in better outcomes for this consumer cohort. The implementation of this government funded initiative is supported by the Victorian Statewide Service for Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma (Spectrum).
To determine whether the PDI achieved its intended outcomes, a summative and formative evaluation framework was developed. Interim results suggest improvement in meeting the needs of PD consumers as well as improvements in mental health clinician’s perceptions of their knowledge and skills in managing PD-related risks. Consumer and carer feedback has indicated some improved service system responsivity and attitudes.
PDI clinical specialists faced multiple barriers and challenges within their services establishing and implementing the objectives. We will discuss challenges associated with effecting positive change in clinicians’ attitudes and biases.
Four PD clinical specialist from different public mental health services, will reflect on their individual service characteristics, service challenges and wider systemic barriers that have been experienced. A major focus of the presentation will be on the learnings gained during the PDI process and how these learnings can be used for future PD initiatives.