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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a devastating psychiatric illness. The diagnosis includes a pervasive pattern of mood instability, intense anger, chaotic relationships, and problems with behavioral or impulse control, including self-injury and multiple suicide attempts. Ten percent of people with BPD eventually commit suicide, making the disorder a critical public health problem. Estimated frequency of BPD in the general population is two to three percent, greater than the frequency of schizophrenia. Women make up 75% of the population with BPD.

BPD creates despair, not only for those diagnosed, but also for their families. Studies of stress among clinicians report that the three most acute and chronic stressors for mental health providers are suicide attempts, threats of suicide and anger of people they serve. People with BPD often exhibit some, if not all of the above behaviors. The treatment of BPD is often an extremely difficult undertaking. Since the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), a major family support system for families of people with "severe mental illness" has not taken BPD under its mission umbrella, several family members, consumers, and one professional have started the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA-BPD). It operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The mission of NEA-BPD, which focuses on families, is to provide education on BPD, dispel the myths that surround it and bring hope for a better life. The goals of NEA-BPD are to disseminate information through sponsorship of a yearly conference, maintain a website that offers current information and research, and establish regional centers for families to provide information, support and training.

The first NEA-BPD initiative is to hold the two-day conference Family Perspectives on Borderline Personality Disorder at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, on October 19-20, 2002. The conference will bring together, for the first time, relatives, consumers, and professionals in a mutual learning forum. It will offer an opportunity for dialogue and knowledge distribution. Families will hear directly from renowned BPD experts, and BPD professionals will hear about the disorder from family perspectives. Topics to be presented include treatment options, research, medications, and family issues. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is calling this conference "path-breaking."