AGENDA of 3.5 Days with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Reserve Your Seat NOW!

Duration: 10:06 1162 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

Professor Sam Vaknin is inviting psychology enthusiasts and professionals to attend a free three-and-a-half-day seminar on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) taking place in Orid, North Macedonia, from November 12th to 15th, 2026. As the author of several books on personality disorders including *Malignant Self-Love* and *Narcissism Revisited*, Vaknin emphasizes that this event is entirely free of charge, with a new book dedicated to BPD also available for download prior to the conference. The lecture hall has already confirmed 140 attendees out of its 160-seat capacity, leaving only twenty spots open for immediate reservation via email. Before diving into the specific agenda, Vaknin briefly mentions his upcoming international speaking engagements in Russia and Greece, but focuses primarily on this intensive gathering designed to explore the complexities of BPD through cutting-edge research and debate. The seminar's first day begins with a four-hour bonus lecture titled "Sexuality in Cluster B Personality Disorders," followed by an extensive discussion distinguishing between Borderline Personality Organization and Borderline Personality Disorder itself. The agenda delves into fundamental questions regarding the etiology of the condition, exploring whether it stems from nature or nurture, brain abnormalities, childhood trauma, dysfunctional households, or a combination of social culture and biological factors. Throughout this initial session, Vaknin plans to address controversial topics such as the gender bias in BPD diagnoses, its historical evolution across different schools of thought, and how these debates shape current clinical understanding. The day concludes with an analysis comparing diagnostic criteria between the DSM-5-TR and ICD-11, specifically focusing on the alternative model for personality disorders. On Saturday, November 14th, the focus shifts to differential diagnosis, examining how BPD overlaps or differs from Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), covert narcissism, and other Cluster C traits like antisocial or histrionic personality disorders. The session also covers comorbidities frequently seen alongside BPD, including substance use, anxiety, and mood disorders, before transitioning to a deep dive into the tumultuous nature of intimate relationships characterized by idealization, devaluation, abandonment fears, and engulfment anxieties. Sunday's final day is dedicated to healing modalities and the phenomenon of spontaneous recovery in BPD patients, offering hope that distinguishes this condition from more chronic personality disorders like narcissistic or antisocial traits. The event will also address intergenerational trauma transmission affecting children of individuals with BPD and conclude with a look toward future diagnostic horizons, including Vaknin's proposed concept of "covert borderline." Throughout the entire seminar, each scheduled session is designed to include at least thirty minutes dedicated to questions and answers, often extending well beyond this timeframe due to audience engagement. Vaknin promises an interactive atmosphere where attendees can ask unlimited questions while he challenges their responses in real-time, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas within the lecture hall. Beyond the academic content, participants are assured of experiencing Vaknin's unique presence, his sense of humor, and his distinctive appearance as he guides them through these critical discussions on one of psychology's most debated conditions. With only twenty seats remaining, organizers urge interested individuals to register immediately via email to secure their place in this comprehensive exploration of Borderline Personality Disorder before the event concludes later that year.

Read the full video transcript

Glorious morning everyone. I want to invite you to spend three and a half days with borderline personality disorder. [laughter] Is there anything more enticing and I'm talking of course about the free seminar in November in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. O R I D. Look it up in North Macedonia. Reserve your seat now. The lecture hall holds 160 people and we already have confirmation for 140 of these seats. So 140 seats are taken. The 20 seats left. Hurry up. If you want to reserve your seat, write to me now. Write to svakningmail.com. I'm Samvakin, the unstoppable [laughter] professor of psychology and the inimitable author of malignant self-love, narcissism revisited, and a series of books and ebooks on personality disorders. November 12th to November 15, 2026 this year. four days, three and a half days free seminar in hotel unique oid North Macedonia. The topic borderline personalities and there's a bonus lecture sexuality in cluster B personality disorders. Shortly I will go through the agenda of the seminar. There is a book in progress. I'm writing a book about borderline personality disorder. It's in progress. It will be completed a few days before the seminar. It's available for free download on the foundation website. There's a link in the description. Before [clears throat] I go and delve into the um give you a deep dive of the agenda of the seminar, um the seminar is free, the book is free, everything is for free. Vaknin, how do you make a living? Don't ask. Now before I go there, um these are going to be very busy months for me. I'm inviting you to a conference in Russia with numerous therapists, clinicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The conference is titled shade 50 shades of narcissism. I'm going to give two lectures on August 23. August 23. The link is again in the in the description. In September, I'm going to give a lecture under the opices of the Africa Insight Foundation. It's a lecture about the narcissist in daily life. And again, you can go down to the description, there's a link. You're all invited to join these events. They are going to be streamed in October. I'm in Greece. So there is the 26th Euroas International Transpersonal Conference in Greece and I'm honored to give three lectures no less um in rapid succession. Those of you who haven't tired of my voice like me are invited to attend and possibly learn something. So now back to the Ow seminar November 12th to 15th in uh the beautiful city of Oakid. What are we going to discuss? What are we going to talk about? I would like to give you a brief rundown, a deep dive into the agenda. Now I will be summarizing in the seminar the latest findings cuttingedge bleeding edge research on borderline personality disorder emotion dysregulation and various debates regarding BPD and so whatever else you're going to have a literature review if nothing else but the whole seminar starts with a bonus lecture a 4hour bonus lecture I the lecture is 2 hours and then questions and answers another two hours at 3:00 on Thursday, November 12th. And the lecture is titled sexuality in cluster B personality disorders. A very hot topic for hot people. Now, Friday, next day, November 3rd, November 13th, I'm I'm sorry. We start at 10:00 in the morning and we discuss borderline personality organization versus borderline personality disorder. They're not the same. And we explore various issues. Is it nature, heredity, brain abnormalities? Is it nurture, upbringing, trauma, dysfunctional households and bad parenting? adverse childhood experiences or is it social culture or all three? A confluence of all three. This is between 10 and 12. Then 1:00 there's a break. You can have lunch. Then at 1:00, borderline personality disorder in the latest edition of the International Classification of Diseases, the 11th edition versus the treatment of borderline personality disorder in the fifth text revision. the fifth edition text revision of the DSM including an analysis of the alternative model 3:00 we're going to delve into the landscape the inner landscape of the borderline starting with emotional or effective emotion or effective disregulation and a variety of other clinical features throughout the first day we will be tackling ling controversial topics. For example, is there such a thing as borderline personality disorder? Is it not a gender biased diagnosis like misogynistic diagnosis? What is the history of borderline personality disorder in the various schools etc etc. So it's a very intensive first day. Second day is Saturday. We're all relaxed. We've had breakfast. We're happy. People are excited to see me again. Of course, needless to say, November 14th, 10:00 in the morning, borderline personality disorder, or complex trauma, CPTtsd, or covert narcissism, or what? How can we tell the difference? What are the differential diagnosis of these conditions? And where do we draw the line? At 1:00 um we discuss co-orbidities or co-occurrences and dual diagnosis in borderline personality disorder. It is often co-diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder and there's a lot of substance abstance use anxiety disorders and mood disorders. 3:00. The intimate relationships of the borderline. A roller coaster. Intensity, shock, idealization, evaluation, abandonment, anxiety, separation, insecurity, engulfment anxiety, approach avoidance, you name it. Those of you who have survived Friday and Saturday will graduate to Sunday. Sunday, November 15th, 10:00 in the morning. Healing and recovery treatment modalities and the mysterious phenomenon of spontaneous healing in borderline personality disorder. No one knows why the prognosis for borderline personality disorder is actually not bad at all as distinct from narcissistic personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder. There's hope definitely for the vast majority of people who suffer from the condition. 1:00, the borderline's children, an intergenerational transmission of trauma. And finally, at 3:00, the future of the borderline personality disorder diagnosis, new horizons, and my proposed new diagnosis of covert borderline. This is more or less these are more or less the contours of the free seminar in Oid in November. You're all invited. There are 20 places 20 seats left. Please make our lives as organizers easier by registering now. Send an email to sambakin@gmail.com and we will reserve a seat for you. There will be a lot of place for questions and answers. Each of the sessions that I've described includes minimum 30 minutes of questions and answers and we very often go above the allotted time. We exceed the timetable. So we have the lecture hall at our disposal in an unlimited way and you can ask as many questions as you want and I'm going to question all your answers. Um, plus of course as a bonus you have my sense of humor, my amazing hair, and my presence. Nothing to be to be sneered at. The unstoppable Professor Sanvakni. See you soon.