VOTE for ROGER PEELE, MD
 President-Elect of the 
American Psychiatric Association

          Roger Peele, MD

Are you concerned about the care of your patients with Personality Disorders, especially Borderline Personality Disorder?  Are you a member of the American Psychiatric Association or do you know a psychiatrist who is a member?    If so, we at TARA urge you to vote for Roger Peele, MD, as the future President-Elect of the APA.
Dr. Peele's efforts have brought improved treatment and hope to countless people   suffering with BPD and their families.
       Throughout his career, Dr. Roger Peele has been a fierce advocate for people dealing with Personality Disorders. He was instrumental in the APA's decision to develop Official Practice Guidelines for specific mental disorders and was a strong voice in their decision to develop guidelines for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD.) The BPD Guidelines defined new, evidence based treatments for BPD and provided psychiatrists with tools for treating their BPD patients thereby improving the standard of care provided to people with BPD across the nation. By reframing BPD for physicians, it moved the disorder from "untreatable" to one that was now, not only "treatable," but one with several evidence based treatment options. (Transference Focused Therapy, DBT, Steppes, Mentalization, Schema Therapy).

      In 1997, TARA began to advocate to change both BPD's name and its' placement on Axis II.  Dr. Roger Peele brought TARA's efforts to the attention of the APA. He is our strongest advocate for bringing  about a change in the name of BPD and, even more importantly, to move BPD  to Axis II so that the degree of disability resulting from BPD can receive the level of care it merits and receive equitable insurance coverage along with other mental disorders. In 2001, Roger Peele initiated a motion in the Washington Psychiatric Society that the name for borderline personality disorder be reconsidered and that personality disorders be moved to Axis I. This motion passed in the Washington Psychiatric Society. This was the first time the issue had been put to a vote within the governance of the American Psychiatry Association, the organization that can make the actual changes BPD needs to "come out of the psychiatric closet!"
           Roger Peele has advocated for removing the word "borderline" from the name of the disorder as it does nothing to describe the disorder. Instead he suggested regulation disorder, emotional regulation disorder, or emotional dysregulation disorder. He strongly advocates for removal of the word "personality" in the name of the disorder as it contributes to stigma and discrimination. In 2002, Dr. Peele initiated an APA motion in the Assembly that the word "personality" be removed from the titles of mental disorders as it stigmatizes the person, implying that they are permanently flawed as they have a disorder of their personality and that the disorder is tied to the science of personality. Who would want to acknowledge that they had a "bad" personality? This term leads to a negative self image that can defeat the purpose of treatment. Roger Peele brings this matter to the attention of the APA by having it voted on in the APA assembly and in various State chapters of the APA. This motion was passed by both the Washington Psychiatric Society and by the Maryland Psychiatric Society in 2003. but failed in the Assembly.  In 2004, Roger debated John Oldham on the need to abolish the Axis II distinction for Personality Disorders. When Robert Spitzer, MD, developer of the original DSM, publicly announced, "You've convinced me, Roger, I've changed my mind and agree with you on the need to abolish the multi-axial system," most people agreed Roger won the debate. Since then, Dr. Peele has succeeded in passing a motion through the APA Assembly, passed by a vote of 81 to 49, that the next DSM abolish the multi-axial system. 
       Dr. Peele advocates for diagnosing and treating adolescents with BPD. By avoiding or postponing the diagnosis of BPD or by misdiagnosing an adolescent with other disorders such as depression, anxiety, conduct disorder, ADHD or bipolar disorder, evidence based psychotherapy is denied or delayed and inappropriate, ineffective medications are generally prescribed. We have all experienced the consequences of adolescents treated for a mood disorder because of reluctance to label them as having "Borderline Personality Disorder."  Receiving ineffective treatment in adolescence leaves the patient feeling hopeless and gives maladaptive coping behaviors the opportunity to flourish while suppressing development of the positive and adaptive abilities of the person. This is iatrogenic. Dr. Peele's point of view is in line with the latest mission of the NIMH who now emphasize early diagnosis and treatment of children and a preventative measure.

Vote by February 6, 2009

  Roger Peele, MD
Chief Psychiatrist, Montgomery County, MD., 2001- Clinical Professor, George Washington Member, APA Board of Trustees, 1986-87, 1989-92, and 2001- Assembly, 1975- Speaker, 1986-87 Washington Psychiatric Society, Board of Directors, 1974- DSM-III work groups, 1975-80 DSM-III-R Task Force, 1983-87 DSM-IV Task Force, 1989-1994 DSM-V Task Force, 2007- Co-author, Clinical Manual of Supportive Psychotherapy
Roger Peele has been on about  100 APA, DB, Chapter, and other professional organization components -- has been a voting member of the APA Board of Trustees for 11+ years [more than any other voting member of the Board], member or guest of the APA Assembly for 33 years [including being its' Speaker], and on his DB's Board of Directors for 34 years. See his web site for some of his policies and statements on important issues for President-elect.  His web site contains listings of some of his activities year by year.
Learn more at rogerpeele.com/apa_activities.asp

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Roger Peele has been TARA's Fairy Godfather for all these many years, always supporting our efforts to promote compassionate evidence based care for people with BPD and their families. Roger helped us organize and sponsored our NEW HOPE for BPD Conference in December of 2002 in Washington, DC, helped us facilitate the first DBT training by Marsha Linehan in the Washington, DC metro area, and promoted DBT treatment in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. He also helped us organize a TARA DBT Family Training at George Washington University. He taught me who was who and how to get things done at the APA. He has advocated at NIMH with TARA families. He is a staunch believer in family participation in psychiatric care. If Personality Disorders, especially BPD, ever move to Axis I, all of us will owe Roger an enormous thank you. His tireless efforts on our behalf and his compassion for patients make him the best choice foir President Elect of the APA.  

Please encourage your psychiatrist to vote for Roger Peele, MD. If you are a psychiatrist, a vote for Roger Peele is a vote for more research and better treatment for people with BPD. 

With warmest wishes,
Valerie Porr, MA, Pres. TARA NAPD