Date and Time: Thursday October 2, 2025, 6-7:30pm

Chairperson(s): Emily Walker, OT, OTR, Allyson Lewis, OT, OTR, Rosa Colorado, OT, OTR

Location:  Zoom - link to be sent out day before the event by  MAOT

Title: The Power of Sensory Modulation in Breaking Down Stigma and Tx of Borderline Personality Disorder

Speaker: Maggie Flynn, OTD, OTR

Learning Objectives: 

1. Identify ways in which societal and healthcare-related stigmas associated with BPD impact tx access, quality of care, and function of those diagnosed. 
2. Identify 2 ways to apply an observed sensory integration pattern in BPD
3. Explore how to tailor person-centered interventions across OT practice settings

Bio/Focus: 

Maggie is a graduate of MGH Institute of Health Professions (’20) and oversees and coordinates theGroup Therapy Program at McLean SouthEast in Middleboro, MA. In this role, she is currently developing and establishing a rehabilitative/OT program at both campuses in Middleboro. Maggie is an adjunct faculty member at MGH IHP, supporting students in the classroom and as a fieldwork supervisor. She is also an adjunct professor at Stonehill College, teaching in their Health Sciences Dept. She has presented at AOTA as a short-course presenter and delivered (alongside Jane Musgrave) the keynote address at AOTA’s Special Interest Mental Health Conference in 2024. Maggie is published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, examining gender biases and perceptions in abusive relationships. She is an outpatient behavioral health OT and is currently training to be certified as a psychodramatist!

References

1. Aviram, R. B., Brodsky, B. S., & Stanley, B. (2006). Borderline personality disorder, stigma, and treatment implications. Harvard review of psychiatry, 14(5), 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/10673220600975121
2. Engel-Yeger, B., Palgy-Levin, D., & Lev-Wiesel, R. (2013). The Sensory Profile of People With Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 29(3), 266–278. doi: 10.1080/0164212X.2013.819466
3. Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2013). Responses of mental health clinicians to patients with borderline personality disorder. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 10(5-6), 39–43.

Event registration closes at 4pm the day prior to the event; participants must register by 4pm on Wed October 1st.