The Role of Goals in Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP): An Organizing Principle in the Treatment of Personality Disorders

In transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), an evidence-based treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), the attention paid to establishing and tracking goals is both organizing and distinctive. The objective of this article is to describe TFP's unusual emphasis on first elucidating and then focusing on a patient's concrete, measurable personal goals. We review the critical distinction between the patient's goals and the therapist's goals. We also provide pertinent examples of material related to goals in TFP. The examination of the role of goals in the treatment of patients with BPD has significant salience given accumulating data that suggests that symptom remission does not reliably lead to enhanced functioning (sustained work/study performance, stable relations with a partner or parents) in this patient population.