Our personalities shape how we experience ourselves, relate to other people, and pursue the things that matter to us. When these patterns become rigid or difficult to understand, they can interfere with relationships, work, and our ability to build a satisfying life.
Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is a structured form of psychoanalytic psychotherapy that addresses these underlying patterns. It pays particular attention to two closely connected areas: our relationship with ourselves and our capacity for relationships with others.
What TFP addresses
A clearer sense of yourself
Having a stable sense of yourself means being able to recognize your feelings, values, strengths, and limitations—even when circumstances change or relationships become difficult. It also involves finding a direction in life: identifying meaningful goals, making choices, and sustaining efforts toward what you want.
Some people experience uncertainty about who they are or what matters to them. Their sense of worth may depend heavily on another person’s approval, or their goals may repeatedly be disrupted by intense feelings and conflicts they do not fully understand. TFP works toward a more coherent understanding of oneself and greater freedom to make and follow through on personal choices.
A greater capacity for connection
Relationships require us to recognize that another person has feelings, needs, and perspectives that may differ from our own. They also involve sustaining closeness through disappointment, disagreement, and the ordinary tensions of depending on someone.
Strong emotions can make these capacities harder to maintain. It may become difficult to understand another person’s point of view, trust their affection, or remain connected while feeling hurt or angry. TFP explores these difficulties with the aim of developing relationships that allow both emotional closeness and room for each person’s individuality.
Beginning with consultation
An initial consultation phase precedes any decision to begin TFP. These meetings provide time to understand the difficulties that bring someone to treatment, their previous experiences with therapy, and what they hope might change.
I pay attention to how the person experiences themselves, pursues goals, understands others, and forms and maintains relationships. We also consider their current circumstances and whether the frequency and demands of TFP are appropriate.
The consultation provides an opportunity to experience how we might work together. We discuss what treatment would involve, including its focus, twice-weekly meetings, fees, and the responsibilities of both patient and therapist.
Consultation does not imply a commitment to undertake TFP. The purpose is to arrive at a thoughtful recommendation and a shared decision about whether to proceed. Another form of treatment may be more appropriate.
How the treatment works
TFP examines how familiar patterns of feeling and relating appear in everyday life and in the relationship between patient and therapist. The term transference refers to the feelings, expectations, and assumptions that emerge within the therapeutic relationship.
For example, someone may feel understood by the therapist at one moment and dismissed or criticized at another. We examine these experiences together, including what has actually happened between us, the feelings involved, and connections with relationships outside therapy.
Working with these experiences as they unfold can help make patterns more visible and emotionally understandable. The aim is to develop a fuller understanding of oneself and others, with more capacity to hold conflicting feelings, consider different perspectives, and respond with greater flexibility.
How TFP differs from skills-based treatments
Skills-based treatments often teach practical ways to manage emotions, tolerate distress, communicate, or change behavior. Those tools can be valuable.
TFP places its main emphasis on understanding and changing the patterns of personality that shape emotional experience and relationships. Sessions are generally organized around the patient’s experiences and what emerges between patient and therapist, rather than a sequence of lessons, exercises, or advice about what to do.
My role is active. I ask questions, help clarify confusing experiences, draw attention to contradictions, and offer ways of understanding what is happening. We work toward a capacity to recognize and think through difficulties, so that choices increasingly arise from a clearer understanding of oneself and the situation.
Practical concerns and safety remain important. The difference is in the central focus of the work: exploring the emotional and relational patterns that repeatedly make life difficult.
My approach and current availability
My work with TFP is grounded in my training and experience as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. I have pursued additional training in TFP through Columbia University’s Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and continue to receive consultation from specialists in the treatment of personality disorders.
In my practice, TFP ordinarily involves meeting twice weekly, face to face.
I am not currently accepting new patients.
Information about fees, insurance, and contact details is available on the Practice Information page.