Introduction Toward Building a Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) Approach for Applied Fields of Mental Health

Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an empirically validated treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) informed by psychoanalytic object relations theory. TFP was influenced by traditional psychoanalytic theory and practice, but its developers made several key adjustments in the design and implementation of the treatment to address the specific aspects of psychopathology identified in patients with personality disorder diagnoses. Since its introduction for use in adult patients with borderline pathology, TFP has been used more widely in other patient populations, including adolescents with BPD, adult patients with narcissistic disorders, and patients with higher level personality pathology presentations. As clinicians in a variety of clinical settings have been introduced to TFP principles, the use of these principles in situations other than an extended, individual psychotherapy has proliferated. This movement of applied TFP principles has yielded a number of pilot programs in multiple locations with ambitious public health goals. This chapter puts into context these initiatives and outlines the subtypes of applied TFP projects, which include the development of clinical services informed by TFP principles, the integration of TFP principles with elements of other evidence-based treatments, and the introduction of TFP theory and practice in education and training systems.