A task force with the objective of creating an International Society for TFP (ISTFP) was created in Berlin in November. The task force met in Vienna under the leadership of Stephan Doering, Chair of the Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy at the Medical University of Vienna. The Task Force Members are (in alphabetical order): Andres Borzutzky, Peter Buchheim, John Clarkin, Sergio Dazzi, Stephan Doering, Nel Draijer, Karin Ensink, Melitta Fischer-Kern, Pamela Foelsch, Otto Kernberg, Lina Normandin, Peter Schuster, and Frank Yeomans with Maria Rummel for organization. The group had a challenging agenda and accomplished its task. Stephan Doering will soon be sending out a report on the meeting and the next steps to be taken. The next meeting of this task force will take place in September 2011 in New York at the same time as the next International TFP Conference. Please mark September 10 and 11, 2011 in your calendars for this meeting.

We continue to analyze the data from our RCT. We have a paper under review that describes three domains of change for borderline patients across the duration of one year of treatment. The three areas of change are aggression, social functioning, and symptomatic functioning (anxiety, depression, impulsivity). It is most interesting that different pre-treatment patient characteristics predict change in each of the three areas.

Kenneth Levy is in charge of a long-term follow-up of the patients in that study; the follow-up is funded by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Our current study, under the leadership of John Clarkin, involves 10 cases in TFP for a year who will receive multiple measures of symptoms and psychological functioning as well as fMRI's at the beginning and the end of the year of treatment.

Pamela Foelsch, with Anna Odom and Helen Arena, continues to recruit patients for their study developing modifications of TFP for Adolescents.

NOTE: The STIPO is currently undergoing a revision. We anticipate that a PDF of the revised STIPO will be available on this website in October 2011.

Please Note: Due to new Federal regulations, we are not able to respond to any clinical questions by e-mail. This includes requests for referrals. In most parts of the country, information regarding referrals can be obtained from the local branches of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers. They often have lists of therapists who specialize in specific areas of treatment.

For more information about borderline personality — both about the condition and about resources — please visit the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center.