Treating Couples with Borderline Personality Disorder, Suicidality, Self-Harm, and Emotion Dysregulation

Drs. Skye Fitzpatrick, C.Psych, Rachel Liebman, C.Psych and Candice Monson, C.Psych have spent the last several years developing, refining, and testing Sage – a treatment for couples where one member has borderline personality disorder (BPD), experiences suicidal or self-injurious thoughts and behaviours, or emotion dysregulation. Sage is a time limited treatment informed by Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Conjoint Therapy with three targets: BPD symptoms/emotion dysregulation, relationship functioning, and partner mental health. In this 2-day workshop, Drs. Fitzpatrick and Liebman will introduce Sage and offer clinicians a collection of strategies to reduce BPD, suicidality, and relationship distress. Through a mix of lecture, case material, and audience role plays, workshop participants will learn

1. Couple case formulation of processes that maintain BPD and suicidality

2. Dyadic strategies to manage safety, regulate emotions, and interrupt life-threatening behavior and high-intensity conflict

3. Techniques to facilitate interpersonal emotion regulation and effective communication.

Special topics, including ethical issues and challenging presentations, will also be covered, as will issues of equity, diversity, and cultural identity with regards to varying relationship structures. Participants will leave this workshop with specific skills to encourage effective emotional expression, communication, and validation, and reduce emotional avoidance, dysregulation, and conflict.