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I am a psychologist with a particular interest in the relationship of the stigma of certain labels to oppression within society toward that labelled group and the effect of these on personality and social functioning. My area of expertise has developed around working with individuals with standard IQ from the high sixties to low eighties, what in the US we call "people with developmental disablities", or "people who are mentally retarded". I have found these people to have a great deal of shame regarding their disability, and especially I have found a profound dislike and avoidance of reference to the word/station of "mentally retarded". My research (as a student) was in the area of low IQ and its relation to the propensity for personality disorder; in particular, Borderline Personality Disorder. I remain interested in how social labels perpetuate clinical disorders and would appreciate any dialogue in this department. I work in a psychodynamic mode, my orientation is of a relational sort, influenced by Self Psychology and Intersubjectivity in general. JG in LA CA %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%