Mark L. Ruffalo

Looking forward to presenting this online workshop on April 12, 2026, on double binds and paradoxes in borderline personality disorder at the New Jersey Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis.

The psychologist Paul Watzlawick first described the self-sealing premise in the 1960s, a concept applicable to psychotic and borderline states. Slide from an upcoming lecture on psychotic symptoms in BPD.

Thanks so much, Preston. Great to see some old friends here!

On Diagnosis and Formulation Diagnosis determines what illness is present; formulation explains why it takes its particular form in a given person. Both are essential and complementary to sound clinical reasoning.

My latest article at @psychologytoday.com explores a growing confusion in contemporary psychotherapy: the relationship between diagnosis and formulation.

I am excited to be presenting Borderline Personality Disorder as Paradox: A Contemporary Psychodynamic Reformulation on April 12, 2026, via Zoom at the New Jersey Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis.

I had a lovely dinner last night in West Palm Beach with Ed Shapiro, Medical Director and CEO of the Austen Riggs Center, along with Donna Elmendorf, Director of the Therapeutic Community Program, to discuss the ongoing need for long-term care for patients with severe psychiatric conditions.

Welcome to my Bluesky profile. I plan to use this account to share my recent papers, workshops, conference presentations, and writing on psychiatry and psychotherapy. Thanks for joining me here.