LoisChoi-KainMDM.Ed.

Psychiatry • Belmont, MA

Director, Gunderson Personality Disorder Institute; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

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Office
115 Mill Street
Belmont, MA 02478
Phone+1 617-855-3933

Fax+1 617-855-3748

Summary

I am a board certified psychiatrist specializing in the study and treatment of personality disorders. I am currently the Director of the Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute (GPDI), a center of training for empirically supported treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and research on outcomes as well as the social cognitive mechanisms targeted in these interventions. My research training began as a post-doctoral fellow under the supervision of John Gunderson, M.D. I developed an intensive residential treatment program, the Gunderson Residence, combining various empirically supported therapies with a milieu setting emphasizing rehabilitation of social and occupational functioning. I also developed a training institute offering CME-accredited trainings in MBT, DBT, DBT-PTSD, transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), and good psychiatric management (GPM). My aim as a researcher is to expand the scope and reach of effective interventions for BPD as a regular fixture of routine mental health care, to allow earlier intervention and facilitation of recovery before the burdens of illness too greatly diminish developmental opportunities critical to fostering healthy personality functioning.

Education & Training

Massachusetts General HospitalFellowship, 2006 - 2009
Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean HospitalResidency, Psychiatry, 2003 - 2006
Steward Carney HospitalInternship, Internal Medicine, 2002 - 2003
Steward Carney HospitalInternship, Transitional Year, 2002 - 2003
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityClass of 2002
Harvard UniversityM.E.d, Individualized Master's: Psychological Anthropology, 1998
Harvard UniversityA.B., Social Studies, High Honors, Cum Laude, 1996

Certifications & Licensure

MA State Medical License 2005 - 2025
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Psychiatry

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Distinguished Psychiatrist Award University of California Los Angeles, 2023
Stanley and Mickey Kaplan Distinguished Psychiatrist Award University of Cincinnati Department of Psychiatry, 2023
Briscoli Lecture University of Massachusetts Medical School, 2023
Anne Alonso Lectures in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Massachusetts General Hospital, 2022
Anne Alonso Lecture in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Massachusetts General Hospital, 2022
Distinguished Fellow American Psychiatric Association, 2021
Kenneth R. Silk Lectureship University of Michigan, 2021
Visiting Professor Maine Medical Center Adult Psychiatry Program, BPD, 2013-2014
Penn Psychotherapy Professor University of Pennsylvania, Psychotherapy, 2012
Partners in Excellence Award Partners Healthcare, Program Development and Implementation, 2009
Travel Award American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Research, 2007
Merit Award The Dr. Henry P and M. Paige Durkee Laughlin Foundation, Leadership, Education, 2006
Alexandra and Martin Symonds Foundation Travel Fellowship Association of Women Psychiatrists, Women's Psychiatry, 2005-2006
Travel Fellowship American College of Psychiatrists, Psychiatry. Leadership, 2005-2006
Travel Fellowship American Psychoanalytic Association, Psychoanalysis, 2005-2006
Fellowship American Psychiatric Association, SAMHSA Minority, 2005-2006
Frieda Fromm-Reichmann M.D. Memorial Travel Award American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy, 2005
Travel Scholarship American Group Psychotherapy, Group Psychotherapy, 2005
Baldwin L. Keyes Prize Thomas Jefferson University, Psychiatry, 2002
First Prize Alpha Omega Alpha, Essay Contest, 2000
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Clinical Trials

Psychoeducational Videos and Digital Assessments for BPD Start of enrollment: 2023 Jun 01
Recruiting
Not Applicable
Roles: Contact, Principal Investigator

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

70 citations
What Works in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder
Lois W. Choi-Kain, Ellen F. Finch, Sara R. Masland, James A. Jenkins, Brandon T. Unruh
Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports. 2017-02-03
265 citations
Mentalization: Ontogeny, Assessment, and Application in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder
Lois W. Choi-Kain, John G. Gunderson
The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2008-09-01
45 citations
A longitudinal study of the 10-year course of interpersonal features in borderline personality disorder.
Lois W. Choi-Kain, Mary C. Zanarini, Frances R. Frankenburg, Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, D. Bradford Reich
Journal of Personality Disorders. 2010-06-14

Lectures

General Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder/Presenter
CT Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT - 2015
Rejection Sensitivity/Presentation
Attachment and Borderline Personality Disorder Conference, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA - 2015
Borderline Personality and Mood Disorders: Comorbidity and Controversy/Presenter, Grand Rounds
Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME - 2015
Mentalization Based Treatment: Integrating Tradition and Revolution in Psychotherapy/Presenter
Massachusetts Psychiatric Society’s Annual Psychotherapy Conference, Waltham, MA - 2015
Borderline Personality Disorder/Presentation
Harvard Psychiatry in 2014, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA - 2014
Stress, Attachment and Personality Disorders/Presentation
Depression, Anxiety and Stress, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA - 2014
Mentalization Based Treatments: Integrating Tradition and Revolution in Psychotherapy/Presentation, Grand Rounds
Harvard University Health Services, Cambridge, MA - 2013
Infancy and Adult Psychotherapy Discussion Panel/Moderator
Attachment Conference, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA - 2013
General Psychiatric Management of Borderline Personality Disorder
Harvard Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School - 2012
General Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder/Lecturer
Mass Medical Society, Waltham, MA - 2012
General Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder/Presenter
Massachusetts School for Professional Psychology, Boston, MA - 2012
Mentalization Based Treatments: Integrating Tradition and Revolution in Psychotherapy/Presentation, Grand Rounds
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA - 2012
General Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder/Lecturer
Brown University, Providence, RI - 2012
Borderline Personality Disorder: An Update in 2011
Harvard Medical School - 2011
Your Mind in Mine: Empirical Foundations and Clinical Applications of Mentalization Therapies/Presenter
Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy Annual Meeting, Simmons College, Boston, MA - 2011
Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Applications of Psychiatry: A Mentalization Based Model/Presentation, Grand Rounds
McLean Hospital - 2010
New Perspectives on the Diagnosis, Etiology and Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, with John Gunderson, M.D./Presenter
The Master Series in Clinical Practice, Boston, MA - 2009
Grand Rounds, Attachment and Borderline Personality Disorder: Theory and Evidence/Presenter
Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA - 2008
Attachment, Mentalization, and Borderline Personality Disorder: The Development of an Alternative Measure for Reflective Function, (with discussant Kenneth Levy, Ph.D....
Yale Center for Child Study/ Anna Freud Center Research Training Program, New Haven, CT - 2006
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Press Mentions

Brain Energy a Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health by Christopher M PalmerNovember 16th, 2022
November Issues of American Psychiatric Association Journals Cover Genetic Underpinnings of Psychiatric Illness, Use of Acute Mental Health Care by Children and MoreNovember 2nd, 2022
April Issues of American Psychiatric Association Journals Cover Benefits of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder and Community-Based Treatment for People with Serious Mental IllnessApril 4th, 2022
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Grant Support

NARSAD Young InvestigatorBrain Behavior Research Foundation2022–2024
Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) Model: Expanding Care for Underserved Patients with BPDPrivate funds, McLean Hospital2015–2017
Intensive Professional Education Opportunity in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder in the Dominican RepublicPrivate funds, McLean Hospital2014–2016
Neurocognition, Attachment and PersonalityFund for Psychoanalytic Research2007–2010
Cultural Grand Rounds GrantAmerican Psychiatric Association, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration2005–2009
Interpersonal Stress ReactivityAmerican Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education, Program for Minority Research Training. Psychosocial Fellowship, McLean Hospital2006–2008

Committees

Member, MBT Steering Committee, Anna Freud Center 2012 - Present
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, National Education Alliance for BPD 2012 - Present
Member, Fellowship Committee, American Psychoanalytic Association 2007 - Present
Co-Chair, Stanton Lecture Committee, McLean Hospital 2006 - Present
Member, MemberSelection Committee, MGH-McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program 2009 - 2010
Member, Selection Committee, MGH-McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program 2005 - 2006