Joshua Cole

I have worked in an multitude of roles and environments, including as a Psychosocial Development Worker in a secure psychiatric hospital, where I provided specialist long-term treatment for four years to a group of 15 women who self-harmed regularly, were diagnosed as having severe Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and were considered a risk to themselves and others. I also deliver counselling and advice on a one-to-one basis in his own private practice to those experiencing complex mental health issues, and was previously commissioned as an Independent Consultant in the role of Care Coordinator with the Social Services Department of Gloucestershire County Council.

I launched and established a Registered Charity BPDWORLD in 2003, a service designed and constructed to offer information, advice and support to those afflicted with BPD. Although no longer a registered charity, the organisation continues to provide those crucial services to an increasing number of people.

I am registered as a Social Worker with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Areas of Expertise

I have studied with Professors Anthony Bateman (Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at University College, London (UCL), and Peter Fonagy (Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis at UCL), to become skilled in the use of MBT (Mentalisation Based Treatment). This is an innovative treatment for personality disorder which can be implemented by nurses and other generic mental health professionals, making it generalisable to other services in the NHS.

I also studied Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) with Dr. Fiona Kennedy. DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioural techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing, with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful-awareness largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice. It was the first therapy that has been experimentally demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of BPD.

Having thus acquired the specialised MBT and DBT training, I am able to deliver a wider range of counselling and therapeutic treatments to a more diverse range of clients.

I have organised conferences on BPD, which have included contributions from key speakers and subject matter experts such as Professor Anthony Bateman.

Contributions to various mainstream media presentations have included the BBC radio programme "All in the mind", with Dr. Raj Persaud (Consultant Psychiatrist and Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry), and a documentary on BPD, which investigated the theories, causes and treatment of the disorder.

Please contact me for information on availability.