Most stunning patient/people-driven online peer networkThis category recognises the incredible value of peer to peer information, advice and support for people living with health conditions. You may have created a digital technology for peer support or be using social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter in novel ways.
#BPDChat – A peer led #chat created by Sue @BPDFFS and Hannah @Transformental three years ago. The chat is innovative as peers set it up off their own steam to connect together and support each other.
We have topics each week to chat on and the legendary ice breaker to get people warmed up. @carldunnjr now runs it but you find Sue there most weeks.
Twitter: @BPDChat
More about @BPDChat
The idea initially for #BPDCHAT was just a place for people to get together to chat with the very stigmatised diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder.However it quickly developed into somewhere where people shared ways to manage BPD and where we all learnt together. Sue would spend a Sunday looking up relevant articles to a topic and post them so everyone could share. We shared knowledge, we shared experience and we shared understanding of what it was like on a day to day basis.
Sue loved it that people made friends and often went on chatting for a while after the chat and people went on to meet up in the real life world!
Sue also find that many professionals found it helpful and sometimes got involved with the chat. The problem solved by the chat was getting together people isolated by their stigmatised diagnosis and giving a space to chat each week and after three years it is still going strong. It has to be said again @carldunnjr has led it for the past year and done an amazing job he is a great person.