Download a PDF poster to print and post in your unit, department, or office! (Opens in new tab)Description
Topics:
The Psychodynamics of BPD
• History of the Borderline Syndrome
• Descriptive Psychopathology of BPD
• Validity and Differential Diagnosis of BPD
• Kernberg’s Theory of Borderline Conditions
• Adler and the Need-Fear Dilemma
• Paradox, Contradiction, and Double Binds in BPD
• Psychotic Symptoms in BPD
• Basics of Psychodynamic Treatment of BPD
• Transference and Countertransference in BPD
• Prognosis and Course of Illness in BPD
The Psychodynamics of NPD
• History of Narcissism
• Distinguishing Healthy and Pathological Narcissism
• Descriptive Psychopathology of NPD
• Validity and Differential Diagnosis of NPD
• Kernberg’s Theory of Pathological Narcissism
• Kohut’s Theory of Narcissism
• Etiological and Treatment Considerations
• Transference and Countertransference in NPD
• Prognosis and Course of Illness in NPD
Description:
Why study the psychodynamics of a personality disorder? Because the behaviours influenced by unconscious drives, desires and conflicts that are not immediately apparent, can lead to changes in self-destructive patterns. Both Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder are considered severe and persistent mental disorders that result in intense and unstable relationships, occupational problems and significant psychosocial distress in themselves (BPD) and others (NPD). Dr Mark Ruffalo, a distinguished speaker on these two topics, will discuss the Psychodynamics of BPD and NPD and how they play out in interpersonal relationships, including the therapeutic relationship, and will provide strategies for the theoretically informed and compassionate treatment of both disorders.
Who Should Attend?
• Nurses, Physicians, Psychologists, Mental Health Nurses, Therapists in all settings
• Primary Care Nurses and Physicians; MH Staff in Community Settings
• Social Workers & Allied Professional Staff in Mental Health and Addictions Settings settings
• Intake & Front-line Staff; Mental Health Managers and Educators
• Mental Health Nurses and Staff in Adolescent, Correctional & Forensic Settings
Mark L. Ruffalo, MSW, DPsa
Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, FL, and serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has experience in the psychodynamic treatment of a range of psychiatric conditions with particular interest in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.
During his training at the University of Pittsburgh, Mark had the opportunity to work with severely ill patients in long-term psychotherapy, an area in which he has developed recognized expertise. He has published previously in the American Journal of Psychotherapy, the Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, and the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. He currently serves as Co-Director of the Psychotherapy Track at the UCF/HCA Orlando psychiatry residency program and is Founding Editor of The Carlat Psychotherapy Report.
His current research interests include the object relations theory of borderline personality disorder; communication dilemmas, paradoxes, and double binds in personality pathology; and deficits in logical reasoning in psychotic and borderline states. He has advanced the hypothesis that borderline personality disorder is fundamentally a disorder of paradox or self-contradiction.
