Broadly, the PPPR Lab focuses on four main areas of inquiry:
- Studying Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) for borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Social cognition, identity, and emotion and their relevance for personality disorders, particularly BPD and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)
- The perception of criticism in close relationships and other transdiagnostic psychosocial predictors of clinical outcomes
- Treatment barriers for individuals with personality disorders, including stigma and access to care
(A Sample of) Current Research Projects
- We are conducting a series of experiments to examine factors that may contribute to stigma about BPD and NPD. This includes considering how potential changes to personality disorder diagnosis may influence stigma.
- In collaboration with researchers at McLean Hospital, the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), we study Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) for borderline personality disorder. This work is both empirical (e.g., studies of how training in GPM influences stigma and access to care) and applied (e.g., articles, book chapters, and other materials intended for clinical use). Currently, we are examining how training in GPM may reduce emotional reactivity and negative attitudes for clinicians who treat BPD. We are also working with international sites to examine the effect of patient-to-clinician feedback in GPM treatment.
- We are examining rejection sensitivity as a transdiagnostic factor, attempt to understand its relevance in BPD and ADHD.
- We are collaborating with Dr. Jessie Stern (UVA; incoming Pomona Assistant Professor) on a longitudinal study of attachment, epistemic trust, borderline traits, resilience, and social function.
- We are conducting a meta-analysis on studies of perceived criticism (PC), and are planning new studies to examine cultural differences in PC and its impact on relationship functioning and psychopathology.