Kiera A. Van Gelder, MFA
Middle Path, est. 2003, is a non-profit resource and education organization for people affected by borderline personality disorder
Education
MFA, Creative Writing / Memoir & Essay
Emerson College
Boston, MA 2001
BA, Cultural Anthropology / Poetry
Empire State College (SUNY)
Saratoga Springs, NY 1995
Publications
Social Work in Mental Health: The Journal of Behavioral and Psychiatric Social Work, Haworth Press [2008] “Living with Borderline Personality Disorder”
USA Today / Society for the Advancement of Education, New York [2007] “Inhabited by a Cry” chapter excerpt from book in progress
Clamour Magazine, Toledo, OH [2003] Essay: “Hidden Disability.” Spare Change Newspaper, Cambridge, MA [2003]
Essay: “Shifts in Light: Recovery from Mental Illness.”
Real Change Newspaper, Seattle, WA [2002]
Essay: “Love in Abandoned Buildings: Relationships Among the Homeless.” Spare Change News/ Real Change Newspaper [2002]
Media Appearances
“Borderline Personality Disorder: What You Should Know” Radio Interview on NPR’s “The Leonard Lopate Show [2007]
“Back from the Edge” Featured in a documentary-style film on BPD produced by Bill Lichtenstein/LCM Media and the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center [2006]
Professional Affiliations
Board Member, Secretary and Clerk, New England Personality Disorder Association (NEPDA) Belmont, MA [2004-present]
Massachusetts Consumer Council Representative, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Bethesda, MD [2006-present]
Presentations & Papers
Clinician/Consumer Trainings on BPD
Project Transition, Chalfont, PA [May, 2007]
Dallas / Ft. Worth VA Hospital, Ft. Worth, TX [December, 2006]
Errera Community Care Center, West Haven, CT [September, 2006] VA Peer Support Conference Call (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2) [November, 2006]
Conference Presentations
Department of Veterans Affairs: 3rd Annual VISN 23 Mental Health Conference, Minneapolis, MN [May 2007] Faculty, "BPD From the Inside Out"
New England Personality Disorder Association: Living With Borderline Personality Disorder: Advances and Treatments Conference, Belmont, MA [March, 2007] Presenter, “What is A Borderline?”
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Expert BPD Focus Group, Arlington, VA [November, 2006] Participant and Presenter, “BPD Recovery and Peer Support.”
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Annual National Convention, Washington, DC [July 2006] Speaker and Panelist, “Ask the Doctor: Borderline Personality Disorder”
American Psychiatric Association: Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada [May 2006] Young Investigator Poster Presentation, “Peer Facilitated Psychoeducation for Borderline Personality Disorder: Further Findings”
Yale University School of Medicine & the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder: Borderline Personality Disorder Conference, New Haven, CT [May 2006] Panel Chair and Presenter, “Peer Support for Borderline Personality Disorder: Meeting the Challenge Through Partnership and Collaboration”
University College London & National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder: BPD: International Perspectives on Engaging Families and Delivering Services Conference London, UK [April 2006] Speaker and Panelist, “A Service-User’s Perspective”
Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention: 5th Annual Statewide Suicide Prevention Conference , Sturbridge, MA [April 2006] Workshop Chair and Presenter, “Understanding Suicidality and Self-harm in Borderline Personality Disorder: Clinical, Consumer and Family Perspectives.”
Manic Depressive and Depressive Association (MDDA ): Community Lecture, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA [December, 2005] Featured Speaker, “A Primer on Dialectical Behavior Therapy”
National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder & McLean Hospital : 4th Annual Conference: Perspectives on Borderline Personality Disorder: Past, Present and Future, Burlington, MA [ Nov. 2005] Speaker and Panelist, “Consumer Perspectives on BPD”
American Psychiatric Association: 57th Institute on Psychiatric Services, San Diego, CA [Oct. 2005] Poster Presenter, “Peer Facilitated Psychoeducation for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pilot Model”
Mount Sinai School of Medicine & the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder: What is It, How to Treat It, Hope for Families, New York City [June 2005] Speaker and Panelist, “Recognizing and Treating BPD”
Consultant work
- Vinfen, Cambridge, MA [2006-7], Assessment and Evaluation of Peer Educators Project; DBRC Advisory Board
- Project Transition, Chalmont, PA [2006-7] Development of recovery model for BPD; filming recovery narratives project
Additional Training
~Dialectal Behavior Therapy (2 Day Training) BehavioralTech, [2004]
~Massachusetts Leadership Academy, Certificate of Graduation [2006]
~Wellness Recovery Action Plan, Certificate of Graduation [2006]
