with Cathie Long

Workshop details:

Many Autistic people are misdiagnosed with borderline/emotionally unstable personality disorder (BPD/EUPD), with most professionals preferring to accept the initial diagnosis rather than acknowledging the realities of what it means to be Autistic. A diagnosis of BPD/EUPD is often given to Autistic adults (predominantly female) who seemingly present with attachment and relationship difficulties, without understanding what it means to be Autistic. Whereas a diagnosis of personality ‘disorder’ should not be given until a young person reaches adulthood. There is a culture of Autistic teenagers frequently being diagnosed with an ‘emerging personality disorder’. It is not uncommon for teenagers who present with an eating disorder, such as ‘Anorexia Nervosa’, to be diagnosed with an ‘emerging personality disorder’, when the reality is they are Autistic with their restricted diet being led by their sensory experiences e.g., (taste, texture, smell, colour).

Misdiagnoses have been attributed to psychiatrists not having sufficient experience and understanding of diagnosing Autism, coupled with the need for diagnostic labels to be applied to justify inpatient psychiatric treatment (Von Schalkwyk et al., 2015). Instead of categorising individuals as ‘disordered’, there is a need for a more affirming, validating, and empowering model which focuses on the individual’s functional, understandable, healthy, and resilient survival responses (Hari, 2019).

Cathie will provide an enlightening workshop where she will talk about misdiagnosis, the differences between BPD/EUPD and Autism, and some of the overlapping experiences between the two diagnoses.

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop is ideal for a variety of healthcare professionals and therapists, as well as for individuals and their families who relate to the webinar topic.

About Cathie:

Cathie Long is a multi-award-winning independent social worker with an MA in Autism. She worked as a Forensic Social Worker/Approved Mental Health Professional in a Community Mental Health Team where she increasingly recognised autistic women being misdiagnosed as "personality disordered". She is also a psychotherapist in advanced clinical training (Transactional Analysis) and has a small practice working with neurodivergent clients. Cathie is an experienced lecturer, trainer, and social work supervisor. In her mid-fifties, Cathie was diagnosed as autistic with attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder.