BPD & Personality
Disorder Therapy

There are a few highly effective approaches for treating BPD: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT), and Schema Therapy. While each has been shown to be effective, each one operates very differently in practice.

Standard Therapy vs. The Deeper Work

I frequently work with clients living with borderline personality disorder, other personality disorders, and complex relationship trauma who have spent years in standard talk therapy without seeing lasting results. You might already know all the clinical vocabulary and nervous system regulation techniques, yet the internal emptiness and chaotic relationship patterns haven’t shifted.

Because of this, my practice centers on Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP). TFP is an intensive, psychodynamic treatment. Instead of just teaching you skills to tolerate your distress, we do the deeper work of exploring how you view yourself and others. The goal is to resolve the root causes of your emotional instability, not just manage the symptoms.

For Clients Transitioning from Higher Levels of Care: While TFP is our long-term focus, I also have extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). If you are stepping down from a residential setting, a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), or an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), DBT skills may be helpful to review and practice during our initial assessment phase to establish baseline safety and behavioral stability before moving into the deeper psychodynamic work.

Choosing the right treatment requires looking beyond standard talk therapy. If you are dealing with severe emotional dysregulation or a personality disorder, a generalist approach often fails in the long term because it targets surface-level symptoms rather than the root cause.

The most critical factor is finding a therapist who has advanced, specialized training to help you navigate the deeper, ingrained patterns driving your emotional pain. While my practice primarily focuses on the framework of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), the treatment is never applied blindly. I conduct a rigorous assessment to understand your unique relational history, allowing us to tailor the pacing and specific focus of the work to exactly what you need to achieve lasting stability.

Because personality dynamics are complex, my intake process isn’t a rushed, one-and-done assessment. Instead, we’ll spend our first few sessions taking the time to truly understand your history, discussing my recommendations, and building a solid foundation for our work together.

If you are used to diving right into “the therapy” by your second session, this might feel a little different. But rushing the assessment phase is exactly why people dealing with ingrained emotional patterns or chronic relationship struggles often spend years bouncing between therapists with conflicting diagnoses. A rushed intake leads to misdiagnosis, surface-level treatment, and the quiet frustration of feeling misunderstood yet again.

When we finish the assessment phase, you won’t be left in the dark. You will leave with a clear understanding of your diagnosis, exactly why it makes sense for your specific struggles, and an honest picture of what it will take to heal. Even if we decide not to move forward with ongoing treatment together, you will walk away with profound clarity about your internal world and a concrete recommendation for your best next steps.