IRT Podcast

Episode Guide

Here's an episode-by-episode guide, so you can read more about each episode in depth and search by keyword.

Please note: transcripts and summaries are AI generated.

Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky 5/11/26 Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky 5/11/26

Episode 011 - Interpersonal Harmonics Mini Series Ep 3 - Histrionic and Borderline Personality Disorders

Learn how histrionic and borderline patterns differ, through an Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT) lens. Explore trauma, attachment, and treatment insights.

🎙️ Episode Overview:
In Episode 011 of the Loving Differently Podcast, Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky continue their personality prototype series by exploring histrionic personality disorder (HPD) and its relationship to borderline personality disorder (BPD) through the lens of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT). Rather than reducing personality disorders to symptom checklists, this conversation focuses on the underlying interpersonal patterns, developmental histories, and emotional learning that shape these prototypic presentations.

Ken and Eliza discuss how attachment disruptions and developmental trauma contribute to relational strategies commonly seen in both histrionic and borderline dynamics. They also explore important distinctions between the two patterns, including differences in dependency, emotional expression, identity organization, and interpersonal control.

Throughout the episode, the discussion emphasizes the importance of case formulation over rigid diagnostic labeling. Using concepts from IRT and the SASB model, they examine how clinicians can better understand what behaviors are attempting to accomplish interpersonally — and how therapists can avoid unintentionally reinforcing maladaptive cycles in treatment.

The episode also addresses the cultural and gendered assumptions that often surround personality disorder diagnoses, encouraging clinicians to approach these patterns with nuance, compassion, and curiosity rather than stigma.

🧩 Major Themes and Discussion Points:

Understanding histrionic personality disorder through an IRT framework
Similarities and differences between histrionic and borderline personality prototypes
Developmental trauma and attachment disruptions in personality organization
Dependency, emotional expression, and relational control in HPD vs BPD
Why personality disorders are often misunderstood in clinical settings
How therapists can avoid reenacting maladaptive interpersonal cycles
Gender and cultural biases in diagnosing personality disorders
Using compassion and curiosity to improve treatment outcomes

📚 References Mentioned in Episode:

Benjamin, L.S. (2003). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders. Guilford Press.

Critchfield, K. L., & Benjamin, L. S. (2024). Structural analysis of social behavior: A primer for clinical use. APA.

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Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky 5/1/26 Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky 5/1/26

Episode 010 - Interpersonal Harmonics Mini Series Ep 2 - Borderline and Passive Aggressive Personality Disorders

Learn how borderline and passive aggressive patterns develop through Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT). Explore trauma, attachment, and treatment insights.

🎙️ Episode Overview:
In this episode of the Loving Differently Podcast, we continue our personality prototype series by exploring borderline personality patterns and passive-aggressive dynamics through the lens of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT).

Rather than focusing on symptom checklists alone, we look at the interpersonal learning that shapes these patterns—and why they can feel so persistent in therapy.

We also discuss complex SASB codes as one similarity between these two disorders, transference/countertransference, gift of love, and clinical implications of IRT therapy for both these prototypes.