Faculty

Kim L. Gratz, PhD

Assistant Professor
Director, Personality Disorders Research
The Personality and Emotion Research and Treatment (PERT) Laboratory

  • B.A., Gender Social Psychology, Tulane University, 1996
  • M.A., Clinical Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2000
  • Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2003
  • Clinical Psychology Internship, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 2002-2003
  • Clinical and Research Fellow, Center for the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 2003-2004
  • Assistant Research Psychologist, Center for the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, McLean Hospital, 2004-2005
  • Research Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology Program and Director of Personality Disorders Division, Center for Addictions, Personality, and Emotion Research, University of Maryland, 2005-2008
  • Assistant Professor, Division of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2008-present

Dr. Gratz's clinical and research interests focus on the role of emotion dysregulation and experiential avoidance in borderline personality disorder (BPD) and deliberate self-harm. In particular, her research focuses on understanding the nature and consequences of emotional dysregulation and avoidance in BPD and self-harm (through the use of novel behavioral/experimental paradigms), and applying this understanding to the development of more effective treatments for these conditions. Recent projects include: experimental investigations of emotion dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and emotional unwillingness in BPD and deliberate self-harm; an experimental investigation of the validity, markers, and associated consequences of an anxious-avoidant subtype of BPD; an examination of the personality traits and underlying processes associated with borderline personality symptoms in childhood; and the further development of an acceptance-based, emotion regulation group therapy for deliberate self-harm among women with BPD. Dr. Gratz currently serves as Principal Investigator on an R34 funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and Co-Investigator on an R21 funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (PI: Tull).