Ms. Sonya Varma provides an introduction to what mindfulness is, speaking briefly about the research supporting it, and its importance in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

This webinar was held on January 10, 2021.

Ms. Sonya Varma is a clinical psychology graduate student in the Treating and Understanding Life-threatening Behaviour and Posttraumatic Stress Lab at York University, under the supervision of Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick. Prior to beginning her graduate training, Ms. Varma worked as a Research Analyst under the supervision of Dr. Shelley McMain in the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Her primary role involved coordinating a multi-site randomized control trial evaluating a brief duration of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for individuals with BPD. Ms. Varma has presented at national and international conferences on emotion processing and the therapeutic relationship in BPD. Ms. Varma's research is guided by a deep interest in identifying ways to optimize BPD interventions, determining what interventions work best for who and why. She is currently working to enhance our understanding of the distinct ways in which Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), emotion dysregulation (i.e., disrupted experiences of emotion and difficulties modulating it), and interpersonal difficulties impact BPD pathology.