Open Lecture – Psychoanalytic Understanding of Emotionally Unregulated Personality Disorder: Countertransference as a Guide, not a Problem
BTPP (Birmingham Trust for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy) and WMIP
Speaker: Marcus Evans
When: Friday 23rd January 2026 – 13:30 to 15:30
Where: Online via Zoom
Synopsis
Patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder can shift rapidly between moments of insight and maturity and states of fragmentation that overwhelm both themselves and those around them. In crisis, disturbing feelings are often expelled into others and acted out in ways that appear chaotic or selfdestructive. These states are sometimes dismissed as mere attention-seeking, yet they express psychic pain that cannot otherwise be borne.
Such patients frequently struggle to maintain a stable sense of self and often seek intense, “special” relationships in which they hope unbearable dependency needs can be met. This can place extraordinary pressure on professionals and services. The atmosphere created can generate confusion, anxiety, and powerful emotional responses in those attempting to help.
These reactions—our countertransference—are often minimised or viewed as unprofessional. Yet if understood and reflected upon, they offer crucial insight into what is happening between patient and professional. Far from being a hindrance, countertransference can illuminate the nature of the patient’s inner world and guide us toward therapeutic engagement rather than enactment.
This seminar will explore how countertransference provides a vital lens through which to understand borderline states of mind and how it can be used to support both clinicians and patients in moments of crisis.
About Marcus
A Fellow of the Institute of Psychoanalysis, is a consultant psychotherapist and mental health nurse with 45 years’ experience.
He led the nursing discipline at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust (1998–2018) and co- founded the Fitzjohn’s Service for complex mental health and personality disorders.
Marcus has written and taught widely on psychoanalytic approaches in mental health, including Making Room for Madness in Mental Health and Psychoanalytic Thinking in Mental Health Settings.
His forthcoming book, Identity and the Foundational Myth: Psychoanalytic Insights into Gender Dysphoria, will be published in November.
Cost £40.00
Contact: info@btpp.co.uk
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