The Laboratory for Dynamic Processes of Psychopathology and Psychotherapy (AKA The Dynamic Processes Lab) focuses on the study of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – a disorder of instability in identity, emotion and relationship. Our work is guided by contemporary psychodyanmic theories and especially contemporary object-relations theories (Kernberg, 2018). More specifically, the lab focuses on the role of impairments in object relations (internal representations of self and others), mentalizing and emotion regulation in the development, maintenance and treatment BPD. Mentalizing is the process of considering one’s own and others’ mental states, while emotion regulation are the ways in which individuals manage their emotions.

In our research we view the processes underlying psychopathology and psychotherapy as highly dynamic, ever-changing and idiographic. Special attention is given to capturing the complexity of such processes while minimizing threats to validity and replicability. Toward that goal, the lab employs a variety of cutting-edge assessment methods such as psychophysiological and observational assessments, structured clinical interviews, reaction time tasks, and self-report questionnaires. In addition, the lab utilizes diverse research designs, including lab-based experiments, ecological momentary assessments studies, treatment studies, naturalistic studies and micro-intervention studies.

Visit our Projects page to learn more about the studies that are currently carried out in the lab. Visit our Publications page for recently published research.