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A Disorder of Diffusion: Contemporary Perspectives on Borderline Personality Disorder - Alexander Kriss, PhD (Webinar live online)
2026 Grand Rounds Series
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized diagnoses in the world of mental health. This talk presents a contemporary psychoanalytic overview of BPD's diagnosis and treatment, rejecting the stereotypical "outside-in" portrait of a wild and hard-to-manage patient for an "inside-out" view rooted in the patient's subjective experience. BPD is framed, at its core, as a condition of pathological diffusion occurring chronically and across multiple domains, from the cognitive and emotional to the relational and cultural. Drawing pluralistically from objective relational, relational, and attachment theory and research, the presentation seeks to show how borderline phenomena is a part of the human condition that is relevant to everyone, and how it becomes a disorder when the development of selfhood is severely disrupted beginning early in life. Specific treatment considerations for the BPD population are considered, highlighting the importance of individualized care while acknowledging major contributions from two manualized psychodynamic treatments, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) and Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT). Future directions for understanding BPD are also addressed, as we take up issues of reducing stigma and better integration of psychoanalytic ideas with the more mainstream perspectives from the cognitive-behavioral paradigm.
Target Audience
___X___ Introductory ___X___ Intermediate ___X___ Advanced
Learning Objectives
- Participants will be able to explain how borderline phenomena can be conceptualized as diffusion across four distinct domains of experience.
- Participants will be able to identify two contemporary psychoanalytic approaches to treating borderline conditions and name their key features.
- Participants will identify sources of stigma toward borderline conditions stemming from both inside and outside of the psychoanalytic perspective.
Alexander Kriss, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at Fordham University, where he serves as director of the Fordham Community Mental Health Clinic and associate director of clinical training. He is the author of Borderline: The Biography of a Personality Disorder, which won the 2026 Book Prize of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play. His forthcoming Borderline Personality Disorder: A Contemporary Introduction will be published as part of the Routledge Introductions to Contemporary Psychoanalysis series. Dr. Kriss serves on the board of trustees of the Austen Riggs Center, the editorial board of Psychoanalytic Psychology, and is a past Division President of the Westchester County Psychological Association. He received his BFA in playwriting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and his PhD in clinical psychology from The New School for Social Research, completing internship training at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Kriss is a recipient of the Scholar Award from the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, the University in Exile Fellowship from The New School for Social Research, and the John Golden Playwriting Prize. His private psychotherapy practice is based in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
Austen Riggs Center Inc. adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. All those at Austen Riggs Center involved in the planning of this activity, including the presenter(s) listed above, report they have no relevant financial relationships with an ineligible company*.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the Austen Riggs Center.
Available Credit
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
ACCME - As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 1.00 APA
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for 1.00 continuing education credit(s) (CE) for psychology. Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Austen Riggs Center, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0115.
- 1.00 ASWB-ACE
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organization, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Austen Riggs Center maintains responsibility for this. Social workers completing this Webinar live will receive 1.00 continuing education credit(s).
Austen Riggs Center, Inc is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0843.
- 1.00 Contact Hours/ ParticipationA certificate of attendance for all Learners.