Dr. Janice Kuo

Biography:

I received my PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington in 2007, where I studied borderline personality disorder (BPD) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) under the mentorship of Marsha Linehan.  I completed an APA-accredited clinical internship at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPHCS), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and National Center for PTSD at the VAPAHCS.  I joined the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University in 2010.

My primary research aim is to examine basic emotion processes in complex, severely disordered individuals and to apply this knowledge to the development and enhancement of psychosocial treatments.  I have a specific interest in examining emotional reactivity and regulation among individuals with BPD and trauma histories using multimethod (i.e., experiential, behavioral, physiological) experimental designs. I also have an interest in evaluating mechanisms of change underpinning cognitive behavioural treatments such as DBT.

Some of my current areas of interest include:

  • Delineating the nature of emotion dysregulation (e.g., emotional reactivity, emotion regulation deficits, emotion misregulation) among individuals with BPD and trauma histories
  • Examining emotion regulation as a mechanism of change in DBT and other cognitive-behavioral treatments
  • Examining psychological and physiological correlates of different therapeutic strategies (e.g., validation) used in DBT
  • Examining the association between the use of specific DBT skills and treatment outcome in DBT

Recent Publications

  • Kuo, J.R., Fitzptrick, S., Krantz, L.H., & Zeifman, R. (in press). How do you choose and how well does it work?: The selection and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies and its relationship with borderline personality disorder severity. Cognition and Emotion.
  • Fitzpatrick, S. & Kuo, J.R. (2016). The impact of stimulus arousal level on emotion regulation effectiveness in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Research, 241, 242-248.
  • Kuo, J.R., Fitzpatrick, S., Metcalfe, R.M., & McMain, S. (2016). A Multi-method laboratory investigation of emotional reactivity and emotion regulation abilities in borderline personality disorder, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 50, 52-60.
  • Kuo, J.R., Khoury, J.E., Metcalfe, R.M., Fitzpatrick, S., & Goodwill, A. (2015). Childhood emotional abuse and borderline personality disorder severity: The mediating role of difficulties with emotion regulation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 39, 147-155.
  • Metcalfe, R.M., Fitzpatrick, S., & Kuo, J.R. (2015). A laboratory examination of emotion regulation skill strengthening in borderline personality disorder, Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/per0000156.
  • Kuo, J.R., Neacsiu, A.D., Fitzpatrick, S., & MacDonald, D.E (2013). A methodological examination of emotion inductions in borderline personality disorder:  A comparison of standardized versus idiographic stimuli, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36, 155-164.
  • Kuo, J.R., Kaloupek, D.G., & Woodward, S.H (2012).  Amygdala volume in combat-exposed veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder:  A cross-sectional study. JAMA Psychiatry, 69, 1080-1086.