Progress in treatment with personality-disordered clients can be subtle, non-linear, and easily overlooked, especially when it doesn’t look like traditional symptom reduction. This session focuses on how to recognize signs of emotional and relational growth that often emerge beneath the surface or in small but meaningful ways.

Clients may not verbalize their progress, and at times may appear to regress or destabilize as deeper emotional work begins. However, subtle shifts, like pausing before reacting, expressing vulnerability, or questioning long-held beliefs, can indicate profound internal movement. Learning to spot these moments is essential for maintaining therapeutic momentum and preventing clinician discouragement or premature treatment changes.

We’ll explore what growth looks like across different stages of therapy, including increased tolerance for discomfort, improved reflective functioning, willingness to repair ruptures, and more regulated interpersonal interactions. We’ll also address how to avoid reinforcing dependency, over-pathologizing ambivalence, or missing the client’s unique markers of change. Through case vignettes and discussion, clinicians will gain tools to affirm and reinforce progress without rushing the process or imposing their own timeline. The session will also cover how to help clients internalize their gains and develop a growing sense of agency and self-efficacy.

Ultimately, recognizing and celebrating progress, however small, builds hope, strengthens the therapeutic alliance, and supports the long-term integration of healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and relating. This session provides a practical and compassionate framework for tracking change and helping clients feel seen in their growth.