About the Personality Disorders Foundation Materials

Thanks to the University of Connecticut, we’re able to preserve access to the materials collected and curated by the now-defunct Personality Disorders Foundation, a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization created in late 1997 at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Materials from the Former Personality Disorders Foundation

Personality Disorders Foundation materials preserved here include their paper on the impact of personality disorders (“The Impact of Personality Disorders”) and their summary of what the personality disorders are (“Personality Disorders Foundation Summary: What Are the Personality Disorders?”), as well as their collected bibliographies on personality disorders — which have now been incorporated into our larger annotated bibliography housed separately at CounsellingBooks.com.

History of the Personality Disorders Foundation

The Personality Disorders Foundation was a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization created in late 1997 at the University of Connecticut Health Center to promote significant progress in the research and treatment of severe personality disorders, including Borderline, Dependent, Antisocial, Schizotypal, and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. Elise Kabela-Cormier, Ph.D., who eventually became Foundation vice president, helped to administer the Foundation from its inception as a web-based entity. (Please note that like the other board members listed below, Dr Kabela-Cormier is no longer involved in any way with the Foundation and is not available to field queries relating to the organization.)

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With the Foundation dissolving and its web presence removed at the end of September 2005, CounsellingResource.com stepped in — with the full support and help of the University of Connecticut Health Center — to preserve the research materials and consumer information which had been collected by the organization during its 8 years in existence.

Personality Disorders Foundation Board Members

Please note that the Personality Disorders Foundation board members listed here are no longer involved in any way with the Foundation — which has, after all, been dissolved as of Autumn 2005 — and therefore will not be available to handle any queries relating to the Foundation.

Robert L. Trestman, Ph.D., MD is a Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Chair of Psychiatry for Clinical Affairs at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. He also is Director of the Center for Correctional Mental Health Services Research. He has conducted research into the neuropsychology and neurobiology of severe personality disorders, with both federal and foundation funding; published basic studies and clinical reviews; presented his work locally, nationally, and internationally; has been responsible for clinical care system design and program implementation for several years; and is an advocate for destigmatization and access to state-of-the art care for those with severe personality disorders.

Patricia G. Abelson, LCSW is the Founder and Executive Director of Corporate Health Systems (“CHS”), a subsidiary of American Psych Systems (“APS”), a national behavioral health managed care firm. As a social worker and pioneer in her field, she is widely recognized for helping to establish the standards that represent employee assistance and mental health managed care at their best.

Julian D. Ford, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and serves as Director of Behavioral Healthcare Outcomes Research, and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of High Utilizers of Health Care. He is a clinical psychologist licensed in the states of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Oregon and California. He formerly served as the Deputy to the Executive Director for Clinical Networking and Education at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, and on the faculty of the Dartmouth Medical School. The focus of Dr. Ford’s scientific and clinical work has been on elucidating the role of: (a) psychological trauma in the etiology, course, and treatment of persistent impairment; and (b) protective psychological, familial, and social factors in the prevention of impairment and the enhancement of functioning. His current research and clinical projects include studies of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress in women and men with personality disorders or severe mental illness, incarcerated adults, chronic and acute medical patients, abused and neglected children, and children with pediatric injuries, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or oppositional-defiant disorder.

Bob Whitman is the founder and chair of People Advocating Therapeutic Homes (PATH), Inc., a non profit Connecticut corporation devoted to the development and success of self-supporting group homes for individuals recovering from addictions. Mr. Whitman is a professor of law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he teaches courses on trusts and estates, and estate planning. Professor Whitman is a life member of the American Law Institute, an academic fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel, the founder of the northeast chapter of the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners, and the author of many articles and books in his field. He is a member of the bars of New York and Connecticut.

Perry Hoffman, Ph.D., is the President of the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA-BPD), and Research Associate at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Hoffman has a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to work with families who have a relative with borderline personality disorder. She is the Director of the DBT Day Treatment Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains, New York. Dr. Hoffman and her colleagues have designed a 12-week education course for families, Family Connections, which is available in several locations in the United States. Dr. Hoffman is also Co-Director of the five-year NIMH funded Family Perspectives on Borderline Personality Disorder conference.