PRIVACY POLICY: It is necessary to the functioning and facilitation of the messageboard to collect and use email addresses and other personally identifiable data. All such information is collected and secured in a manner appropriate to the nature of the data. We do not sell or otherwise disclose this information outside of the organization. Personal information is not used for marketing products or services. We take your privacy seriously.
SOURCE OF FUNDING: This site is operated and funded solely by member donations. The financial needs of the site are communicated to the membership and the members are asked to contribute responsibly and what they can afford. The staffing is also donated (e.g. administrators, moderators, advisors, distinguished members, ambassadors). The volunteers are not financially compensated for the time they spend running the site.
ADVERTISING POLICY: This site does not accept advertising, display or recommend content for compensation, or sell content to members. The carefully vetted listings of clinics, rehabilitation centers, books (and points of purchase), articles, links, and other resources are provided to the members for the sole purpose of advancing their healing and growth.
EDITORIAL POLICY: The editorial content on this site is selected by the editorial committee with the objective of providing relevance and clinical reliability. The state-of-the-art for personality disorders is rapidly evolving. The editorial committee is committed to keep the educational material consistent with mainstream professional thinking and rooted in practicality. The editorial committee is also committed to avoid and debunk common myths. Member input is actively solicited in the form of readership critiques, polls, and workshops. Recommendations to the staff are encouraged.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Many articles that appear on this site were authored by or excerpted from specialists in their respective fields and include Murray Bowen MD, Kenneth R Silk MD, John G. Gunderson MD, David Burns MD, Robert O. Friedel MD, Elizabeth Finley-Belgrad MD, Cynthia Berkowitz MD, Dan G. Blazer MD, Martin Bohus MD, Daniel K. Hall-Flavin MD, Jerold J. Kreisman MD, Nicolas Reusch MD, Jeffrey W. Swanson MD, Marvin Swartz MD, Susan Forward PhD, Jeffrey E. Young PhD, Marsha Lineham PhD, Shari Manning PhD, Margalis Fjelstad PhD, John Gottman PhD, Richard A. Warshak PhD, Xavier Amador PhD, Alan Fruzzetti PhD, Christine Ann Lawson PhD, Joan Lachkar PhD, Darlene Lancer JD MFT, Arnoud Arntz PhD, Shawn P. Cahill PhD, Daniel Harkness PhD, Jerry Deffenbacher PhD, Linda K. George PhD, John Preston PsyD, Charles Spielberger PhD, Patricia Love EdD, Kenneth Adams PhD, Mark Dombeck PhD, Sandra C. Anderson PhD, Shawn Meghan Burn PhD, Robert H. Albers PhD, Marilyn J. Sorensen PhD, Tina Tessina PhD, Daniel A. Bochner PhD, Joseph M. Carver PhD, Paul Mason MS CPC, Roger Melton MS, Valerie Porr MA, Robert Weiss LCSW, Debra L. Kaplan MA LPC, William Eddy Esq, Melody Beattie, Jane Middelton-Moz, Nicole Dubowitz, Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse, and Randi Kreger.
MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY: Requirements for membership are five-fold: (1) that you have a relationship, current or past, with an individual with personality disorder traits, (2) that you desire to improve your current emotional well being, (3) that you are willing to support others in improving theirs, (4) that you will comply with the terms of service and respect the professional members and moderators, and (5) that you are 18 years of age or older. More information on eligability is listed here.
MEMBERSHIP CLASSES: There are four classes of membership: general members, recognized members (welcoming ambassadors and distinguished members), advisors and moderators, and professional members.
TERMS OF SERVICE: All members must agree to, and comply with, the terms of service as a condition of continued membership. Members who do not comply with these terms may, after consultation, have their memberships revoked. Members who are using the messageboard in a way that is harmful to themselves or others may be consulted and asked to take a therapeutic break from the community. All actions of the moderators are appealable to a five-man review committee. All moderators are volunteers who are members who have risen to a leadership position and have completed training and an internship as an advisor and ambassador. The guidelines are listed here.
DISCLAIMER: This site is intended to support, not replace or interfere with professional healthcare. Unless otherwise noted, opinions shared on the site are peer opinions and unless otherwise noted, all members are posting as non-healthcare and non-legal professionals. Members are explicitly advised that it is not appropriate to use this resource as a sole source of guidance or information - members should read reliable print material and also consult with family and their clergy and if needed, clinical or legal professionals. One benefit of a resource like this is that it pools people and resources together to provide a support level that is not possible in our own communities. The potential downside of a resource like this is that it could amalgamate like-minded people with similar, but unhealthy beliefs. For this reason it is important to diligently incorporate the site's educational material in messageboard discussions and for every member to be a watchdog by notifying the moderation staff when discussions wander into nonconstructive or unconventional directions. The use of this resource or advice given is the choice and sole responsibility of the member.
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More information on eligability is listed here.