Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), marked by its extreme emotional volatility and resultant functional impairment, chaotic and abusive interpersonal relationships, high incidence of self-harm and suicide, high impulsivity, and comorbid psychiatric illness, and has tremendous financial, social, and emotional costs for individuals, families, and systems. Given the substantial treatment non-response rate for BPD, Nichole’s research seeks to bolster the known body literature regarding neurobiological and metacognitive processes underpinning BPD etiology and subsequent treatment efficacy.  

Expected outcomes of her research include the potential demonstration of neuroplasticity and the ability to reduce metacognitive deficits, a reduction of personality psychopathology, and reduction in family dysfunction. Long-term goals include the addition of this intervention to the repertoire of evidence-based intervention to promote individual recovery, preservation of BPD families, and prevention of transgenerational transmission of BPD that for some currently happens through dysfunctional parenting and traumatic upbringing.