The Center for Intensive Treatment of Personality Disorders (CITPD)

The Center for Intensive Treatment of Personality Disorders (CITPD) offers specialized, intensive ambulatory treatment for persons diagnosed with a Personality Disorder or some of its symptoms, including, but not limited to:

    • recurrent suicidal thoughts, behaviors or gestures
    • self-injurious behaviors
    • impulsivity and/or high-risk behaviors
    • identity/self-image problems
    • interpersonal /relational / family problems and conflicts
    • emotional/mood dysregulation
    • dissociative symptoms
    • social/interpersonal isolation
    • problems with intimacy and trust
    • sexual/gender-identity problems
    • unusual perceptual experiences or thoughts
    • body image problems
    • addictive behaviors other than substance abuse/dependence
    • shyness/inhibitions/fear of rejection
    • difficulties in making decisions/excessive perfectionism

Services and Treatment
CITPD offers four specialized treatment programs:

The MORNING [AM] Program is open Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to noon and offers 14 groups per week, (3 groups per day, except Mondays); One weekly session of individual therapy and ongoing pharmacotherapy as needed. The Morning Track was designed for individuals with prominent and persistent (DSM Axis I) psychiatric symptoms and serious problems in daily functioning (depression, bipolar mood swings, transient psychotic symptoms, severe anxiety, OCD symptoms) combined with longstanding (DSM Axis II) interpersonal problems in treatment compliance, relationships, work or school (social isolation or alienation, impulsivity, emotional / cognitive / behavioral dysregulation). Five days per week attendance for 6 months is required.

The AFTERNOON (PM) Program is open Monday to Friday, 1 pm to 4 pm and offers 14 groups per week, (3 groups per day, except Mondays); One weekly session of individual therapy and ongoing pharmacotherapy as needed. The Afternoon Track is for individuals with primarily personality-related interpersonal (DSM Axis II) problems who may also experience anxiety, depression, bipolar mood swings, or symptoms of another, non-psychotic, psychiatric/psychological syndrome. Most patients in the Afternoon Track have had substantial work and/or school experience, as well as significant history of relationships and/or psychotherapy prior to their admission to CITPD. Five days per week attendance for 6 months is required.

The EVENING (IOP) Program is open Monday to Friday, 4 pm to 6:30 pm and has been designed for individuals with a wide spectrum of primarily personality-related interpersonal problems (DSM Axis II) who either work or attend school on AT LEAST a part-time basis. Five days per week attendance for 6 months is required. After the initial 2-4 weeks of full-time, five days a week attendance, the program may be scaled down to 4 days a week to accommodate school or work schedules.

The MODIFIED Program is open Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm and offers one, 1.5 hour long session of group psychotherapy per day [5X / week], pharmacotherapy and highly individualized one-on-one treatment, as needed. The MODIFIED program has three separate treatment tracks corresponding to each of the main tracks above [ AM , PM , IOP ], and has been designed for individuals who may find it difficult to engage and/or continue in the full program. MODIFIED Track I is for the Morning [AM] population of patients, MODIFIED Track II for the Afternoon [PM] patients and MODIFIED Track III for the Evening [IOP] patients. Attendance 5 days per week for at least 3 months is expected and treatment can be extended to 12 months, if needed.

Admission Criteria
Admission to CITPD is based on a comprehensive assessment and review by the multidisciplinary CITPD treatment team using the following criteria:

  • principal or secondary DSM-IV diagnosis of a Personality Disorder
  • ability and willingness to participate in intensive, group-based treatment
  • commitment to 5 days per week attendance and 6 month long treatment cycle
  • commitment to drug-free functioning and / or enrollment in concurrent substance abuse treatment, if needed
  • ability and willingness to comply with program policies and rules assuring safety of self and others
A full spectrum and continuum of psychiatric care are provided through other emergency, inpatient and outpatient services available within the St. Luke's and Roosevelt Hospital 's Department of Psychiatry.

Your Care Team
CITPD programs are staffed by an interdisciplinary team of clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers, creative arts therapists as well as by psychiatry and medical residents, psychology interns and fellows undergoing their clinical training at St. Luke's and Roosevelt Hospital's Department of Psychiatry.

Our interdisciplinary team provides integrated treatment including:

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment for symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder and many other difficult to treat psychological and psychiatric disorders. It has been particularly effective in the management and reduction of suicidal and parasuicidal behaviors, self injurious/self-destructive behaviors, anger, impulsivity, interpersonal problems and emotional dysregulation. It combines cognitive – behavioral techniques, Eastern (Zen) mindfulness practices with a dialectical philosophy of change viewed as a synthesis of opposites. It offers comprehensive behavioral analysis of disordered functioning and practical skill training developed specifically to enhance personal and interpersonal effectiveness, emotional stability and overall mastery of one's behavior.

Psychodynamic Therapy is a specialized treatment for a wide spectrum of mental disorders and psychological/psychiatric conditions, including personality disorders, depression, anxiety, impulse control, sexual problems, identity, self and personal difficulties. It explores both conscious and unconscious aspects of current symptoms, conflicts and behaviors and utilizes specialized, interactive treatment strategies, techniques and modalities to enable patients to understand and to change themselves. Internal and interpersonal, current and past aspects of one's functioning are explored and modified to reduce symptoms and to develop more realistic, healthy and adaptive way of being and living.

Mentalization Based Therapy is a specialized approach to treatment of personality disorders based on adult attachment theory. It examines one's mental representations, attachment patterns, and emotion/self regulation. Treatment addresses deficits in these areas and progresses towards increasing “reflective function” or the capacity to represent, reflect, and relate to internal states in the self and others. In the course of therapy, collaborative communication, language and reflective skills are explored and practiced, and the increased capacity to “mentalize” becomes an alternative to self- destructive, dysregulated “acting out” of internal subjective states.

Cognitive Therapy is an approach to treatment involving a thorough examination and change of maladaptive patterns of perception, thinking, feeling and behavior, both conscious and unconscious. It identifies and confronts hidden, irrational or distorted systems of core beliefs, self-image and self/other-representations which may result in psychiatric symptoms and/or dysregulated cognition, affect or behavior. It utilizes a wide spectrum of cognitive and behavioral techniques focused on direct transformation of problematic and maladaptive aspects of one's functioning.

Psychopharmacological Treatment . Each patient undergoes a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation and, if indicated, receives psychotropic medication(s) prescribed to treat specific symptoms of his/her psychiatric condition. Each patient's pharmacotherapy is carefully monitored by attending psychiatrist and psychiatry residents and is integrated with ongoing psychotherapy.

Program Location and Hours of Operation
Roosevelt Hospital
1000 Tenth Avenue , 6 th Floor
New York , NY 10019
(212) 523-6983
Monday to Friday; 9:15 am to 6:30 pm

Appointment Scheduling
For patients, friends, family members:
To schedule an appointment for yourself, a friend or family member, please contact the Access Center at (212) 523-8080.

For Providers:
To refer a patient, please prepare the documentation specified below and call the Access Center at (212) 523-8080.

Documentation required to make a referral to CITPD:

* Comprehensive Psychiatric or Psychological Evaluation [completed within last 12 months]
* Treatment / Progress notes for the last two months
* Insurance information [coverage for 6 months of intensive treatment, 5 days per week (130 days) is required]
CITPD treatment is covered by Medicaid / Medicare but often is not covered in full by commercial and / or Managed Care plans.

Complete documentation needs to be received by CITPD no later than 5 days before the appointment date to assure comprehensive assessment of the patient.

Providers who would like more information about CITPD treatment can contact the CITPD's Clinical Director at (212) 523-7881.
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