Alvah Lai

As part of the 2023–2024 Master of Professional Psychology research team, Alvah investigated Australian clinicians’ readiness to adopt dimensional models of personality disorder. The team interviewed Canberra-based psychologists (n = 15) and psychiatrists (n = 10) and analysed the transcripts with reflexive thematic analysis. Clinicians saw dimensional approaches as more client-centred and holistic but less specific than categorical diagnosis; unfamiliarity — reinforced by training programs and Medicare structures built around categorical models — bred ambivalence, while personality-disorder stigma and low perceived utility fed a broader reluctance to diagnose PDs at all. The team concluded that building sector-wide familiarity with dimensional approaches is a feasible first step for the Australian context.