In this group, we focus on the study of the development of mental disorders and personality structure with a lifespan perspective informed by research on attachment, mentalization, and epistemic trust. A main idea is that individual differences that begin in childhood interactions with parents shape to some extent the way children, adolescents, and adults interact with others (for better or worse), as well as their style of affect regulation, communication style, and more. We are particularly interested in using observational methods to track differences in attachment as they manifest during psychotherapy. We are also interested in developing ways to observe and study mentalizing and epistemic trust in normal and clinical populations across age groups.

ONGOING PROJECTS

For more information about current and completed projects at the Psychotherapy Research Center, click on the project name:

Quality Assurance and Evaluation of Diagnostic and Mentalization-Based Treatment Services for Parents, Infants, and Young Children in the Family Therapy Outpatient Clinic.

Duration: 2020 - Ongoing

Heart rate variability as a biological marker of personality disorders

Term: 2019 - Ongoing

Operationalization of epistemic trust

Term: 2016 - Ongoing

Machine learning applications in psychotherapy research

Term: 2017 - Ongoing

Psychometric evaluation of the personality inventory for ICD-11

Term: 2019 - Ongoing

The Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS) and the process and outcome of psychotherapy.

Duration: 2016-2020

Unresolved attachment in psychotherapy

Duration: 2019-2021

Funding: International Psychoanalytic Association