Tuesday, November 11, 2025, 2:00 pm EST
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is typically a long-lasting and impairing mental disorder marked by significant interpersonal problems, severe emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity. Approximately 69% to 80% of persons with this condition engage in self-injurious behavior, and as many as 9% die by suicide. For many, BPD first emerges in adolescence. Although effective treatments are available, these are typically expensive, lengthy, and require a high degree of commitment from both therapists and clients. Identifying ways that we can optimize BPD treatment and prevention is an important public health priority. One area for further research is the relationship between sleep and BPD. Disrupted sleep is closely linked to key BPD features, and, previous research has found a range of sleep problems among people with BPD. Dr. Kaufman will present preliminary results from an ongoing clinical trial examining the relation between sleep quality and BPD symptoms in daily life, as well as the effects of a single-session sleep intervention.
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Presented by
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
2023 Young Investigator Grant
Dr. Kaufman is a clinical scientist and an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on interrupting pathogenic factors that contribute to self-inflicted injury (SII), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and suicide. Her work builds on existing research that identifies both (a) markers of biological vulnerability to SII and BPD, and (b) environmental risk factors that shape vulnerabilities into more advanced and difficult-to-treat patterns of stress reactivity over time (e.g., coercive family processes, emotion invalidation).
Moderated by
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., serves as the President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the largest private funder of mental health research grants. Dr. Borenstein developed the Emmy-nominated public television program “Healthy Minds,” and serves as host and executive producer of the series. The program, broadcast nationwide, is available online, and focuses on topics in psychiatry in order to educate the public, reduce stigma and offer a message of hope. Dr. Borenstein served as Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News, the newspaper of the American Psychiatric Association from 2012 - 2023.
Dr. Borenstein is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and serves as the Chair of the Section of Psychiatry at the Academy. He also has served as the President of the New York State Psychiatric Association. Dr. Borenstein earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his medical degree at New York University.
