“At best, a dialogue about life”

This moving statement concludes Chapter 6, titled ‘Reflections on Supervision,’ from Dr. Kernberg’s book Hatred, Emptiness, and Hope. It had such a profound effect on me that I decided to make it the centrepiece of this article about the relationship between supervisor and supervisee. It sums up how our founding father sees the complex and sometimes complicated human experience. With rigour and sensitivity he tells a story of mutual human growth underlining what can nourish or hinder the process. In this text, I will attempt to summarize his most fundamental ideas on supervision.

Mathieu Norton-Poulin, M.Ps.

Mathieu Norton-Poulin is a psychologist in private practice in Gatineau, Québec. He graduated from Laval University in 1995 and started his training in transference focused psychotherapy in 2005. Member of the TFP-Québec group he as been practicing as a certified TFP therapist for the last 11 years. Since 2009 he organized several training events and has given lectures on TFP for medical doctors and college students. He maintains a blog where he write, in plain words, articles to explain TFP to the general public.

Read author’s Blog

Dear Colleagues,

September 27, 28, and 29, 2024 were very special days for the ISTFP. Our 8th Biennial Conference took place in New York. The experience was evidence of a principle that we emphasize in the practice of TFP: it is important to combine cognition with affect.

Frank E. Yeomans, MD, PhD

Frank E. Yeomans, MD, PhD, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University. He is a Senior Consultant in and teaches internationally for the Personality Disorders Institute, and is in private practice in White Plains and New York City.

Author’s Website

The excitement to meet brought together around 300 members and affiliates of our community from September 27th to 29th, as we celebrated the eighth international congress of our society, the ISTFP.

The academic program

On the 27th, the events started with three magnificent pre-conferences: Barry Stern and Nestor Kapusta, as discussant, spoke about the Object Relations Model of Couples Therapy; Lina Normandin, Karin Ensink, and Alan Weiner taught us about TFP for Adolescents: Specificities and Family Work; and Luis Valenciano and Irene Sarno spoke about supervision for newly certified TFP supervisors and those interested in becoming TFP supervisors. These workshops had an unprecedented attendance and great participation of the attendees. This preliminary day foreshadowed the climate of exchange and scientific and theoretical discussion that was to come in the next two days. 

On the 28th and 29th we had the privilege of attending lectures by Eve Caligor, Chiara De Panfilis, Emanuele Preti, Agnes Schneider-Heine, Nel Draijer, Karin Ensink, Stephan Doering, special guest David Tuckett who spoke about Knowing What Psychoanalysts Do and Doing What Psychoanalysts Know, and Otto Kernberg. 

In addition, there were seven scientific symposia, five SPECIAL TOPICS SYMPOSIA, and ten posters exhibited. All of this was marked by an increasing breadth of topics and increasing participation of young exhibitors in the TFP community.

Otto Kernberg’s presence was a highlight throughout the event. Not only did he participate as an attendee and contribute his insights during committee meetings on the future of our institution, but he also delivered the final day’s plenary lecture on ‘Alternative Contemporary Views of Psychoanalytic Therapy.’ His words demonstrated his characteristic ability to integrate and provided a vision for our future. The audience paid tribute to him with prolonged applause, filling the auditorium with emotion and gratitude for several minutes.

The research awards

This presentation of research awards was a highlight of the conference, recognizing talent in upcoming TFP researchers. What stood out was the exceptional quality of the submitted works.

The award for recent published research was given to two sets of winners:

1) Kevin Meehan and Nicole Cain for:

Meehan, K. B., Cain, N. M., Roche, M. J., Fertuck, E. A., Sowislo, J. F., & Clarkin, J. F. (2023). Evaluating Change in Transference, Interpersonal Functioning, and Trust Processes in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Single-Case Study Using Ecological Momentary Assessment. Journal of Personality Disorders, 37(5), 490–507. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2023.37.5.490

2) Victor Blüml and Maria Gruber for:

Gruber, M., Alexopoulos, J., Doering, S., Feichtinger, K., Friedrich, F., Klauser, M., … & Blüml, V. (2023). Personality functioning and self-disorders in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis, with first-episode psychosis and with borderline personality disorder. BJPsych Open, 9(5), e150

The event was, in itself, a testimony to how well the TFP research community is developing following the highest academic standards.

Awards were also given for outstanding research presentations at the conference.

The ISTFP Research Committee gave 1 first place award, 1 second place award, and 2 third place awards to:

1) Emilia Soroko for the presentation:

Validity and clinical utility of the Polish version of the Revised Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO-R-PL)

2) Marco Di Sarno for the presentation:

Pathological narcissism, self and other representations, and affect in the patient-therapist relationship: Preliminary data from an experience sampling study

3) Marko Biberdzic for the presentation:

Level of Personality Organization and Development Questionnaire (LPODq 14-21): Investigating the Validity of a Theoretically Informed and Developmentally Sensitive Measure of Personality Pathology in Youth

3) Arianna Sinisi for the presentation:

The contribution of Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) in general adult psychiatry training: improving trainees’ technical confidence and attitude towards people with personality disorder

Choosing our Leaders

The ISTFP convention is always an opportunity to choose hour leaders for the next 2 years. During the member assembly, the members elected the new ISTFP Board. Frank Yeomans was re-elected as President and Stephan Doering was elected as Vice President. He will replace Eve Caligor who provided great service to the ISTFP in that role and will continue on the Board. Victor Blüml was elected the new Treasurer, replacing Melitta Fischer-Kern, who provided the ISTFP with dedicated managing of its finances since the inception of the organization in 2012. Along with the rest of the board, who will continue in their current positions, they have the mission to lead our society into these uncertain times until 2026.  

Exchanging Professional Experiences

The conference offered participants the ability to meet members from around the world who were eager to share their experiences with us. In the spirit of the theme of this Newsletter, here are a few of them regarding training to be a supervisor.

Many described their training as a supervisor in TFP is a transformative growth experience.

Ruth Alcalá Lozano described her training process as “enriching and exciting.” Throughout her journey, she has observed how others manage to apply TFP in complex countertransference situations. Being “the observer of the observer” has required her to broaden her knowledge and maintain a constant practice. She emphasizes that “every clinical experience prepares me to handle future cases better,” highlighting the importance of adapting to the uniqueness of each situation.

Aurora Doll Galardo has increased her interest in microprocesses and the therapist’s attitude. She highlights that “supervision requires structure, the ability to organize something that is initially loaded with emotions.” A significant experience for Aurora occurred while supervising a case in which she decided not to seek out a patient who missed an interview. This moment led her to reflect on the commitment necessary in the therapeutic process.

Pablo Botias Cegarra found the most challenging aspect of training to be staying mindful and calm while teaching and sharing his knowledge with colleagues. “So the whole process was transformative in the sense that it helped me see myself as co-supervisor in supervision, a tutor in teaching classes, and to acknowledge my capacity to help other people to understand TFP better.”

Finally, Silvia Bernardi reflected on her role as a co-supervisor, facing the challenge of helping beginner therapists. She states that “it is easy to understand the patient’s pathology, but it is much more difficult to communicate it and be heard.” The distance that allows her to be a supervisor has been transformative for her practice: “I conceptualize each case much more clearly than when I am in my role as a therapist.”

The Breakfasts and Conference Dinner

As always, there were spaces for the social life of our society, already constituted as a family; there were breakfasts, dinners, and other instances in which the attendees could, beyond the academic, connect and reconnect. We leave you with found memories that were gathered by the Public Relation and Communications Committee.

Unfortunately, three days are always too few for us. We can only wait two years with the hope of meeting in Vienna in 2026.

See you soon! Best wishes, 

Veronica and Diana for the Public Relations and Communication Committee

Ps. Veronica Steiner

Veronica Steiner Segal is a Chilean clinical psychologist who graduated in 1998. Since her beginnings she has been working with patients with Severe Personality Disorders in different health institutions in her country, and since 2018 she is a certified TFP therapist. In 2019 she obtained her accreditation as a teacher and supervisor. Since the same year she is coordinator of Grupo TFP Chile. She is the Executive Officer for the Board and she collaborates with the T&E Committee. She also teaches at the University of Valparaiso, in the Department of Psychiatry, where she also teaches in the Diploma of Severe Personality Disorders.
She collaborates in different courses looking for the diffusion of TFP. Together with Luis Valenciano and Pepa Gonzalez she directs an important training in TFP for Spanish speaking students, Instituto TFP Hispanoamerica.

TFP Chile WebsitE

Diana Téllez Quiroz, PhD

Diana Téllez has been a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist since 2005. She obtained a Master’s in Psychotherapy for Children, Adolescents, and Adults in 2009 and a Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the Mexican Psychoanalytic Association in 2012.

She holds a PhD and Master’s in APM. Certified supervisor, teacher, and therapist in TFP, Circle of Security, and AAI. Psychologist with experience in personality disorders, specializing in MBT and EFT. Member of ISTFP and ISSPD.

Author’s website

The increasing family and community of ISTFP members just met in New York for our 8th Biennial Conference, many in person and some by streaming. We, of course, devoted some activities to the field of teaching and supervision. One of them was the in-person Training and Education Committee meeting on September 27^th, which allowed members of the committee to deepen certain important themes.

During that meeting, the T & E Committee reached the conclusion that our therapists in training are getting more and more consistent with what we may call the macroscopic aspects of supervision.

Let me explain by doing an artificial division in our practice.

Luis Valenciano

Psychiatrist, Executive Officer for the Board of the ISTFP, and currently the Chief Trainee and Supervision Committee member

Luis Valenciano is a physician and psychiatrist, formerly the Executive Officer for the Board of the ISTFP, and currently the Chief Trainee and Supervision Committee member.
After passing the MIR, he trained in Psychiatry at the General Hospital of Murcia under the tutelage of Professor Demetrio Barcia. He specialized in psychotherapy at the Madrid Psychoanalytic Center and Elipsis.
In 2007, he co-founded the first Personality Disorders Program in the Region of Murcia, where he worked until 2021 before dedicating himself to private practice. Since 2006, he has worked with Professor Otto Kernberg in New York and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the ISTFP. From Murcia, he sees patients and supervises therapists internationally, in addition to teaching at various institutions. In recent years, he has also co-founded the Instituto TFP Hispanoamérica with other colleagues.

From the comfortable yet significant confines of his private practice in Andalusia, southern Spain, Sergio Fernández-Miranda has dedicated his professional life to understanding and treating the human mind. His career as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist encompasses extensive experience in the public healthcare system, including five years at a Day Hospital and ten years as a psychiatric residency tutor. Since 2021, he has transitioned to focusing on his private practice

Ps. Veronica Steiner

Veronica Steiner Segal is a Chilean clinical psychologist who graduated in 1998. Since her beginnings she has been working with patients with Severe Personality Disorders in different health institutions in her country, and since 2018 she is a certified TFP therapist. In 2019 she obtained her accreditation as a teacher and supervisor. Since the same year she is coordinator of Grupo TFP Chile. She is the Executive Officer for the Board and she collaborates with the T&E Committee. She also teaches at the University of Valparaiso, in the Department of Psychiatry, where she also teaches in the Diploma of Severe Personality Disorders.
She collaborates in different courses looking for the diffusion of TFP. Together with Luis Valenciano and Pepa Gonzalez she directs an important training in TFP for Spanish speaking students, Instituto TFP Hispanoamerica.

TFP Chile WebsitE

I was there during the first conference in White Plains, NY in 2011 and have been coming every two years since. Every occurrence has left me with insights and experiences that have had a profound impact on me and my practice of TFP. In this article, I will try to tell the story of the ISTFP conference from the participant perspective so previous attendees can reminisces on past convention and new ones have all they need to enjoy it to the fullest. For a more formal history of the conference, I suggest reading this excellent article by Theophilus Kok that was published in the October 2022 members Newsletter.

Mathieu Norton-Poulin, M.Ps.

Mathieu Norton-Poulin is a psychologist in private practice in Gatineau, Québec. He graduated from Laval University in 1995 and started his training in transference focused psychotherapy in 2005. Member of the TFP-Québec group he as been practicing as a certified TFP therapist for the last 11 years. Since 2009 he organized several training events and has given lectures on TFP for medical doctors and college students. He maintains a blog where he write, in plain words, articles to explain TFP to the general public.

Read author’s Blog

Dear Colleagues,

We all make mistakes. Mathieu Norton-Poulin, in his very personal article about attending ISTFP conferences over the years, points out a frequent error that people make: idealizing others. This is very understandable. We get comfort from the idea of someone who could have all the answers and solve all our problems. But, as we know, idealization is very dangerous. It is dangerous because it is not based in reality. In discussing Otto Kernberg’s cautioning people against the risk of idealizing him, Mathieu mentioned the risk of envy and aggression associated with idealization. We can go even further in our critique of idealization. For example, idealization of the leader is an implicit devaluing of the group. Otto Kernberg has always insisted that all members of the group have an important role in advancing our thinking and practice. This emphasis on the role of all members of the group was evident as the Personality Disorders Institute developed at the Weill Cornell Medical College. It is happening in a parallel way as we see the growth of the International Society for TFP. The whole is far stronger than any single member of the organization. Our organization has evolved into an incredibly creative and productive group.

Frank E. Yeomans, MD, PhD

Frank E. Yeomans, MD, PhD, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University. He is a Senior Consultant in and teaches internationally for the Personality Disorders Institute, and is in private practice in White Plains and New York City.

Author’s Website

Hello, I’m Diana Téllez from Mexico, and years ago, New York captured my heart on my first visit. I have been fortunate enough to explore the city on various occasions: with family, a partner, children, for work, or on vacation. These varied experiences reflect my deep passion for the city, making it one of my favorite destinations in the world. As the saying goes, “New York is always a good idea,” so if you are considering coming to the congress, I assure you that choosing it as the venue was an excellent decision.

With the same enthusiasm, I want to share some suggestions for having fun, based on what I would have liked to know on my first visits to New York. I hope these recommendations help you fall in love with the city as much as I have.

Diana Téllez Quiroz, PhD

Diana Téllez has been a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist since 2005. She obtained a Master’s in Psychotherapy for Children, Adolescents, and Adults in 2009 and a Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the Mexican Psychoanalytic Association in 2012.

She holds a PhD and Master’s in APM. Certified supervisor, teacher, and therapist in TFP, Circle of Security, and AAI. Psychologist with experience in personality disorders, specializing in MBT and EFT. Member of ISTFP and ISSPD.

Author’s website

SYMPOSIUM 1 – Efficacy and effectiveness studies in TFP / Chair: Stephan Doering

1. Jonathan Radcliffe, E. Fertuck, E. Preti, M. Boden,T. Dewhurst,C. Reeves Mates, C.Tuckett, P. Birch: The UK Study
2. Annemieke Noteboom, M. Kaan, R. van Grieken, R. Kortrijk, N. Draijer, R. Van: Dyads – Effectiveness and Process of Change of Transference-focused Psychotherapy for Patients with Treatment Refractory Borderline and Narcissistic Personality Disorders
3. Agnieszka Izdebska, M. Olga Jańczak, J. Franczyk-Glita: The Effectiveness of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders: A Protocol of RCT in Poland (TFP-PL Study)
4. Joan Vegué, MJ Rufat, I. De Ángel, V. López, M. Ferrer, E. Sánchez: An experience of Applied Transference Focused Psychotherapy in a Rehabilitation Service for people with Borderline Personality Organization in Barcelona: assessment of results.
5. John F. Clarkin, J. Sowislo, M. Lenzenweger: Preliminary Findings from the Weill Cornell Personality Disorders Institute (PDI) Study of Trajectory of Change
6. Cecily Jahn, M. Hellmich, N. Kreutzer, S. Bender, M. Krischer: Decrease in Hospitalizations Among Adolescents with Borderline Personality Organization After TFP-A Day Clinic Treatment – A 2-Year Follow-Up

SYMPOSIUM 2 – Validation of the STIPO-R: results from five different countries and languages / Chair: Susanne Hörz-Sagstetter & Leonie Kampe