Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy

CPTR member reads notes during lecture.

What is Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP)?

TFP is an evidence-based psychodynamic treatment for personality pathology. Our program is taught by leaders in the field – clinicians and researchers who have been central in the development of TFP — and provides a comprehensive introduction to the disorders of personality functioning and their psychodynamic treatment.

TFP is designed to address problems in personality functioning across the range of severity, with special attention to forms of borderline and narcissistic pathology frequently encountered in clinical practice. The goals of the treatment are ambitious: personality change, as reflected in improved functioning and satisfaction in interpersonal and work life, as well as symptom change.

The Columbia TFP Training program:

• Encompasses two-years of seminar study, reading, and clinical work

• Meets once weekly for 90-minute meetings (two day and time options are offered)

• Is offered fully online

The curriculum covers basic theory, strategies, tactics, and techniques of TFP and proceeds to presentation of faculty videotapes and group supervision of students' videotaped treatments. After completing the two-year course, participants will have the fund of knowledge and clinical abilities to be a skilled TFP therapist.

Instructors

Eve Caligor, MD
Frank Yeomans, MD, PhD
Barry Stern, PhD
Joanna Bird, MD
Eugenia Cherkasskaya, PhD
Tiziano Colibazzi, MD
Eric Fertuck, PhD
Richard G. Hersh, MD
Benjamin McCommon, MD
Alexander Sheppe, MD

Core Texts

  • Yeomans F, Clarkin JF, Kernberg OF: Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Publishing, 2015.
  • Caligor E, Kernberg OF, Clarkin JF, Yeomans FE: Psychodynamic Therapy for Personality Pathology: Treating Self and Interpersonal Functioning.  Washington, D.C., American Psychiatric Press, 2018.

Training

The educational program consists of 34 weekly online seminars, running September through June of each academic year.  Courses are co-sponsored by the Columbia Psychoanalytic Center and TFP New York.

For 2025-26, we are offering four different training opportunities (please note that instructors are subject to change). 

  • First year videoconference seminar held Mondays from 5:00-6:30 p.m. EST
    • Drs. Caligor, Stern, and Bird
  • First year videoconference seminar held Thursdays from 10:00-11:30 a.m. EST
    • Drs. Hersh and McCommon
  • Second year videoconference seminar held on Mondays from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST
    • Drs. Yeomans, Fertuck, and Colibazzi
  • Second year videoconference seminar held on Tuesdays from 2:30-4:00 p.m. EST
    • Drs. Caligor, Cherkasskaya, and Sheppe

Application

The training will be open to licensed Psychiatrists, PhDs, PsyDs, and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).

Applications for the academic year beginning in September should be submitted no later than May 15.

Our online application for the 2025-26 academic year is now open:

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy Program Application Form

  • The form will require you to upload a digital photo, your CV, your current license, and proof of liability insurance, so please make sure that you have these documents available before you begin.
  • You will also want to make sure that you request letters from two different recommenders, whom you name in the application form, be sent directly to psychoanalysis@cumc.columbia.edu. If you are currently in training or completed training within the past five years, we also request a letter from your training director.
  • Please pay your nonrefundable $50 application fee using our secure payment form.

The deadline for submitting application materials is May 15th. We will make final decisions about acceptance by the end of May 2025. 

Tuition

The tuition for those enrolling in the first year of the program in the 2025-26 academic year is $4,870 which is payable in two installments at the beginning of each term. Tuition increases at an incremental rate annually. This program does not qualify for the Columbia University Tuition Exemption Program.

In addition to the professional growth, collegiality, and intellectual enrichment our program provides, it offers participants many of the benefits afforded to Columbia University students, including access to the university’s libraries and the ability to enroll in Columbia Student Health Insurance. Graduates receive a certificate from Columbia University and may claim a maximum of 30 continuing education credits (see below).

All students are eligible to enroll in Columbia Student Health Insurance for an additional fee. For details, please click here.

Tuition and fees listed here and elsewhere throughout this website are subject to change without prior notice. 

Please review the Psychotherapy Division's Refund and Cancellation Policy.