Personality disorders are often conceptualized as enduring patterns of maladaptive behavior and interpersonal dysfunction, yet emerging integrative approaches highlight the role of early trauma, attachment disruptions, and deeply held beliefs about safety, relationships, and self-worth. Control- Mastery Theory (CMT), a trauma-informed psychodynamic framework, offers a clinically accessible model for understanding personality pathology as an adaptive response to early relational injury rather than fixed character deficits.

This training introduces Control-Mastery Theory as an integrative framework for treating personality disorders across clinical settings. Participants will explore how pathogenic beliefs—formed in response to trauma, neglect, or inconsistent caregiving—shape emotional dysregulation, relational patterns, and treatment resistance. The course emphasizes how clients unconsciously “test” therapists to determine whether new, healthier relational experiences are possible, and how clinicians can respond in ways that promote psychological safety and change. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing tests, supporting patient agency, and helping clients relinquish pathogenic beliefs while maintaining an empathic, collaborative therapeutic relationship.

Upon completion of the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Describe the theoretical foundations of Control-Mastery Theory and its relevance to the treatment of personality disorders.
• Recognize the influence of trauma, attachment experiences, and pathogenic beliefs on the presentation of personality disorders.
• Identify client testing behaviors that communicate unconscious expectations within the therapeutic relationship.
• Apply Control-Mastery Theory principles to formulate treatment interventions that address pathogenic beliefs and support corrective relational experiences.
• Demonstrate strategies for responding to client tests in ways that enhance therapeutic alliance, patient agency, and emotional safety.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of trauma-informed, collaborative interventions in promoting psychological change and reducing treatment resistance among individuals with personality disorders.