Improving mental health management and treatment

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that causes a great deal of suffering for around 68,000 South Australians. There is a desperate need for the development of ‘best care’ pathways for those with the debilitating psychiatric disorder.

In July this year, Dr David Smith received an Impact Seed Funding Grant for Early Career Researchers from Flinders University for his research which aims to provide better treatment options for a person facing a BPD diagnosis and the opportunity to improve the management of their condition.

Dr Smith’s research project will use statistical modelling to evaluate conditional dependence and establish causation to develop effective psychological treatment pathways for Borderline Personality Disorder. The tool developed would support decision making analysis for mental health clinicians working in the community and in hospital emergency departments to provide more efficient treatment.

Receiving the Impact Seed Funding, means Dr Smith has been able to get his research underway, including critical interviews with expert clinicians in treating Borderline Personality Disorder.

“I am seeking their experiences and perceptions on the effectiveness of different types of psychological therapies,” says Dr Smith. “Incorporating their expert knowledge into my research will enable me to investigate the potential benefits of behaviour therapy for men who experience BPD.”

Flinders University Impact Seed Funding Grants provide early career researchers (recent PhD graduates) with vital funding to take risks in their research and challenge established thinking.

With our community of donors who support the Impact Seed Funding Grants, our early career researchers can take a bold step towards new and unexplored research outcomes.

Through this support our donors nurture the future of research and make a difference by building our researchers’ capacity and capabilities to make a positive impact.

Donate today