Anne Reeve’s work has had a profound impact on the lives of carers of people with BPD in Australia, and their families.
In 2015 Anne worked her magic and influence to get the US based National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA-BPD) to gift its brand, its wealth of research and treatment knowledge, and its globally renowned Family Connections program to the Australian community.
Much of the philosophy of NEA-BPD Australia (as Headway was then known) was informed by Anne’s personal experience and feedback by Australian BPD stakeholders, shaped by the knowledge and expertise of the US authors of the Family Connections program for carers of people who suffer from BPD, the late Dr Perry Hoffman, and Professor Alan Fruzzetti.
Anne developed deeply respectful and enduring relationships with Perry and Alan, and others across the world. She arranged for Alan to come to Australia in 2015 to teach the Family Connections program to carers and workers in the mental health arena. This was the start of changing the lives of so many Australian families for the better. Family Connections is now run across Australia.
Anne was acutely aware of the chaos experienced, and sense of hopelessness that can overwhelm the lives of family members caring for someone with BPD. This informed her work in developing quality standards for the program to ensure “we did nothing to exacerbate the chaos, and to deliver the best possible product.”
Anne’s belief that the FC program was “more than just for families” led her to build positive working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. She personally upskilled first responders, and advocated across all levels of Government. She heightened awareness through the media, created the dedicated BPD Awareness Week platform, and organised training for cohorts of practitioners in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. She reached out to police and legal fraternities. Via the ‘Ask Me’ campaign, she tackled stigma and provided a platform for those who suffered from BPD.
Anne was tireless, resourceful, tenacious, passionate, deeply committed, unfailingly positive and extremely generous. She had the most wonderful smile, which will stay with all who knew her.
The work she started with Family Connections has earned the deep respect of so many, including the large and growing groundswell of volunteers and supporters who continue to work to ensure that Family Connections thrives in Australia and makes a tangible difference in alleviating suffering in our BPD community.
We at Headway honour and thank Anne for all she did to help families living with BPD. We will continue to work to keep her memories and wishes alive.
