Therapy for BPD and Borderline Traits
I provide specialized therapy for adults with borderline personality disorder and borderline traits who are looking for a structured, active approach to treatment.
I often work with people who have been in therapy before, know a lot about themselves, and still feel stuck in the same emotional and relationship patterns. Many have done DBT or learned a lot of coping skills already but feel like there is still more to understand and work through.
My work can include trauma, relationships, shame, identity, and the patterns that keep showing up even when you already know what you are “supposed” to do.
I work with adults in California and Ohio through telehealth.
What BPD Can Look Like
Borderline personality disorder can affect the way a person experiences emotions, relationships, and themselves.
Emotions may feel very intense and can shift quickly, especially when something feels threatening, rejecting, or uncertain in a close relationship.
Relationships can become a major source of distress. You may feel deeply connected to someone and then suddenly hurt, angry, afraid, or unsure where you stand. Small changes in tone, distance, or availability can feel much bigger than they seem from the outside.
BPD can also involve a lot of shame and self-criticism. After an argument, an impulsive decision, or a strong emotional reaction, you may understand what happened afterward and still feel like you had very little control over it in the moment.
Some people struggle with chronic emptiness, uncertainty about who they are, or the sense that they look fine on the outside while struggling much more privately.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy can help you get better at recognizing what is happening before emotions or relationship conflicts escalate.
Over time, the goal is to have more room between what you feel and what you do next.
We may work on understanding the patterns that show up when you feel rejected, uncertain, hurt, or afraid of losing someone. That can include learning to communicate needs more clearly, making sense of other people’s reactions more accurately, and responding in ways that are more consistent with what you actually want from your relationships.
Therapy may also focus on shame, impulsivity, identity, and the ways past experiences continue to shape what happens in the present.
For some clients, that includes trauma processing. For others, the work starts with building more stability and understanding the patterns that keep repeating.
My Approach to BPD Therapy
My approach draws from attachment-based therapy, psychodynamic therapy, mentalization-based ideas, Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic approaches, and EMDR.
Attachment-based and psychodynamic work can help us understand recurring relationship patterns, especially the ways earlier experiences may shape what feels safe, threatening, or familiar in close relationships.
Mentalization-based ideas are especially useful when emotions are intense and it becomes harder to make sense of yourself or another person. We may slow things down and look at what you are feeling, what you think someone else is feeling, and what you actually know versus what you are assuming or predicting.
IFS and somatic approaches can help us pay attention to different internal reactions and to what is happening in your body when you feel overwhelmed, rejected, angry, ashamed, or afraid.
When trauma is an important part of the picture and the timing is right, I may also use EMDR.
I do not provide comprehensive DBT. Some clients I work with have already completed DBT or learned DBT skills elsewhere, and I can help reinforce the skills that are still useful.
I tend to be an active therapist.
I like to have a clear sense of what we are working toward. That might mean setting goals, tracking recurring patterns, practicing something between sessions, or coming back to what is and is not changing over time.
I do not expect every session to be highly structured, but I also do not want therapy to feel like we are simply having the same conversation every week.
My style is warm, direct, collaborative, relational, and validating. I use humor when it fits, and I am comfortable taking the lead when therapy needs more structure or direction.
I also try to be straightforward about what I am noticing, especially when a pattern is showing up in a way that seems important to our work and your recovery.
A Structured and Active Approach
Trauma, Relationships, Shame and Identity
For many people with BPD or borderline traits, current symptoms are connected to earlier experiences in relationships.
That may include attachment instability, abuse, neglect, chronic invalidation, or other experiences that made it hard to feel safe with other people or to trust your own reactions.
Because trauma treatment is one of my other specialties, I am comfortable doing more focused trauma work when that is appropriate and something you want.
That does not mean every session has to be about the past. A lot of the work may still focus on what is happening now: relationships, emotional reactions, shame, communication, identity, and the ways you try to protect yourself when you feel hurt or threatened.
What It’s Like to Work With Me
I am warm and collaborative, but I am also direct.
I am comfortable helping organize the work, naming patterns, and taking a leadership role when that is useful.
I want therapy to feel like there is a direction to it, even when the work itself is complicated.
I also want there to be room for humor, honesty, and a real relationship between us.
Who This Therapy May Be A Good Fit For
This work may be a good fit for you if you:
have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder or identify with borderline traits
struggle with intense emotions, relationship instability, shame, impulsivity, or chronic emptiness
have already tried therapy and want to work with someone who has experience with BPD
want a therapist who is active and structured rather than mostly nondirective
are interested in understanding recurring patterns, not only managing symptoms
have a trauma history and may want to include trauma work in therapy
Please note that my practice is not designed to provide multiple sessions per week or ongoing crisis support.
Experience Working with BPD
Hello!
I have worked with clients with borderline personality disorder and borderline traits throughout my career, beginning in 2017.
I am a psychotherapist with extensive experience working with trauma, including clients with histories of self-harm and suicidality, and I am EMDRIA Certified in EMDR therapy.
I continue to pursue consultation and advanced training so that my work stays thoughtful, current, and grounded in strong clinical practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. I work with people who have a formal diagnosis as well as people who identify with borderline traits or recognize these patterns in themselves.
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I do not provide comprehensive DBT. Some clients I work with have done DBT before or already use DBT skills, and I can help reinforce those skills when they are useful.
My overall approach draws more heavily from attachment-based therapy, psychodynamic therapy, mentalization-based ideas, IFS, somatic work, and EMDR.
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Yes. Trauma treatment is one of my specialties, and trauma processing can be part of our work when it is clinically appropriate and something you want to do.
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That is very common among the people I work with.
Many clients come to me after prior therapy that felt too general, too rigid, or simply did not address the patterns they were most concerned about. We can look at what was and was not useful in your past treatment and build from there.
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Yes. I provide telehealth therapy to adults located in California and Ohio.
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Yes, I have experience working with both.
Please note that I do not provide ongoing crisis support or a higher level of care. We can talk about whether my practice is an appropriate fit for your current needs.
Reach Out
If this sounds like the kind of therapy you are looking for, you are welcome to reach out.
I work with adults in California and Ohio through telehealth, and you can use the contact form below to tell me a little about what you are looking for and see whether we might be a good fit.