TFP - Transference - Focused Psychotherapy
Transference Focused Therapy in Working with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) According to Otto Kernberg

1 in 8 patients in clinical settings and 1 in 4 patients in inpatient settings is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. These patients have difficulty communicating, are at high risk of dropping out of treatment, express high levels of aggression, and are highly resistant to therapist interventions. Treating borderline personality disorder requires expertise and the use of unique therapeutic tools.

Transference-focused therapy, developed by one of the central theorists in psychoanalysis – Prof. Otto Kernberg, is a model from the field of psychodynamic psychotherapy, which also incorporates extra-psychoanalytic ideas and tools. The uniqueness of TFP lies in providing tools for dealing with the chaos and instability of working with patients with borderline personality disorder. In doing so, TFP provides an intuitive conceptualization of the frequent fluctuations in the patient's transference relationships, and the exchange of 'roles' as a key to understanding relationship patterns outside the treatment room. Alongside this, it is a "grounded" model that allows for focused work on life goals through tools such as the therapeutic contract and maintaining the therapeutic setting.

The TFP approach addresses questions that concern therapists with borderline personality disorder:

· What is effective treatment for borderline personality disorder? How do you know that the treatment is working?

· How to set specific goals in the treatment of borderline personality disorder while still maintaining a psychodynamic treatment framework?

· How do you deal with the instability and chaos that patients with borderline personality disorder bring with them to the treatment room?

· How do transference and countertransference differ in the treatment of borderline personality disorder compared to other disorders?

We will address these issues and more on the learning day. We will emphasize the integrative nature of the approach; both in connections within the psychodynamic world (between classical theories, object relations, and ego psychology) and in connections to contemporary models in the therapeutic field. We will also address the great potential that the approach has for the mental health system in Israel as a research-based approach.

The learning day is suitable for therapists who want to get a glimpse into the TFP approach and the practical tools it offers for working with borderline personality disorder.

Today's program:

8:30-10:00: First session – background and theory:

- The place of the TFP approach within the therapeutic field.

- What is the difference between borderline personality disorder and borderline personality disorder?

- Fluctuations in transference and countertransference in the treatment of borderline personality disorder.

10:15-11:45: Second session – Practice:

- Therapeutic contract – yes or no?! Goal-oriented work in psychodynamic therapy.

- Dealing with chaos and fluctuations in the treatment room.

- How to conduct confrontations and interpretations in an empathetic and effective manner?

12:00-13:30: Third session – viewing, discussion and summary:

- Viewing recordings of therapy using TFP and discussing with the audience.

- Integrative comparison between TFP and current major treatment methods for borderline personality disorder (DBT - Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, MBT - Mentalization-Based Therapy and Schema Therapy)

Lecturers:

Dr. Yogev Kivithi - Clinical Psychologist. Faculty member in the Clinical Psychology program at Bar Ilan University. His research focuses on psychopathology and the treatment of borderline personality disorder in general, and specifically on disruptions in object relations. As part of his postdoctoral fellowship at Pennsylvania State University, he specialized in transference-focused therapy (TFP) for severe personality disorders.

Boaz Gasthalter - Clinical psychologist, instructor and organizational consultant. Treats adults, adolescents and children in a private clinic in Tel Aviv-Yafo, board member of the Trieste-Schrig Institute and board member of Afek (organization, individual, group). Graduate of a training program for the treatment of patients with severe personality disorders at the Psychoanalytic Institute at Columbia University.