Skye Fitzpatrick

Faculty & School/Dept.

Faculty of Health - Department of Psychology

Degrees

Postdoctoral fellowship - 2019
Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

Predoctoral Internship - 2018
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA

PhD - 2018
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)
Toronto, ON

MA - 2013
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)
Toronto, ON

BA - 2011
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS

Biography

Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick completed her PhD in 2018 at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU; formerly Ryerson University) in the Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Processing Laboratory under Dr. Janice Kuo’s supervision. Her research at TMU focused on the nature and treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD), with a specific focus on dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). Dr. Fitzpatrick’s training at TMU supported her in achieving numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal Award, the American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award, and the Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award, among others. Following graduate school, Dr. Fitzpatrick completed her predoctoral internship in Seattle at the University of Washington under the research mentorship of Dr. Debra Kaysen. During her internship, she received research and clinical training in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which often co-occurs with BPD, and was awarded the Nancy Robinson Award for Outstanding Overall Achievement for her contributions to the training program. Dr. Fitzpatrick continued to pursue training in both BPD and PTSD treatment research during her postdoctoral fellowship in the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University under the mentorship of Dr. Denise Hien and Dr. Shireen Rizvi. Her current research focuses on identifying ways to optimize, expedite, and broaden access to BPD and PTSD treatments on their own and as they co-occur. In the interest of optimizing and expediting BPD and PTSD treatments, Dr. Fitzpatrick has become particularly focused on harnessing the power of relationships through the development and study of conjoint or dyadic interventions. In the interest of broading access to BPD and PTSD interventions, she has become interested in developing and studying online, remote-delivered, and brief interventions.  

Selected Publications

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Di Bartolomeo, A. A., Siegel, A. N., Fulham, L., & Fitzpatrick, S. (in press). Borderline personality disorder and social connectedness: A systematic review. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, Treatment.

Varma, S., Samson, L., Fulham, L., & Fitzpatrick, S. (in press). Characterizing the Mental Health Concerns of Significant Others of Those with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and How BPD Impacts Them. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 

Fitzpatrick, S., Varma, S., Chafe, D., Norouzian, N., Traynor, J., Goss, S., Earle, E., Di Bartolomeo, A., Siegel, A., Fulham, L., Monson, C. M. Liebman, R. E., (in press). A Case Series of Sage: A New Couple-Based Intervention for Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation. 

Fitzpatrick, S., Fulham, L., Samson, L., Earle, E., Goenka, K., & Varma, S. (in press). Expressed emotion in significant others of individuals with borderline personality disorder. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. 

Fitzpatrick, S., Goss, S., Di Bartolomeo, A., Varma, S., Talia, T., & Earle, E. (in press). Follow the money: Is borderline personality disorder research underfunded in Canada? Canadian Psychology. 

Fitzpatrick, S., Crenshaw, A., Earle, E., Radosavljevic, D., & Kuo, J. R. (in press). The influence of sleep on emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and healthy controls. Psychiatry Research. 

Fitzpatrick, S.* Liebman, R.,* Monson, C. M., & Resick, P. A. (2023). Latent profiles of PTSD and specific emotions predicting differential therapy outcomes in a dismantling study of cognitive processing therapy. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 95, 102681. 

* denotes co-first authorship

Fitzpatrick, S,. Dixon-Gordon, K., Turner, C., Chen, S., & Chapman, A. (2023). Emotion dysregulation in personality disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 25(5), 223-231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-023-01418-8.

Note: Invited manuscript

Fulham, L.,  Forsythe, J., Fitzpatrick, S. (2023). The relationship between emptiness and suicide and self-injury urges in borderline personality disorder. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 53(3), 362-371.https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12949

Fitzpatrick, S., Liebman, R. E., Varma, S., Norouzian, N., Chafe, D., Traynor, J., Goss, S., Earle, E., Di Bartolomeo, A., Latham, M., Courey, L., Monson, C. M. (in press). Protocol development of Sage: A novel conjoint intervention for suicidal and self-injuring people with borderline personality disorder and their significant others. Cognitive Behavioral Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2022.11.002

Di Bartolomeo, A. A., Varma, S., Fulham, L., & Fitzpatrick, S. (in press). The moderating role of interpersonal problems on baseline emotional intensity and emotional reactivity in borderline personality disorder. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology. 

Hien, D., Morgan-López, A. A., Saavedra, L. M., Ruglass, L. M., Ye, A., López-Castro, T., Fitzpatrick, S., Killeen, T. K., Norman, S. B., Ebrahimi, C. T., & Back, S. E. (in press). Project Harmony: A meta-analysis with individual patient data of behavioral and pharmacologic trials for comorbid posttraumatic stress, alcohol and other drug use disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry.

Monson, C. M., Wagner, A. C., Crenshaw, A. O., Whitfield, K. M., Newnham, C. M., Valela, R., Varma, S., Di Bartolomeo, A. A., Fulham, L., Collins, A., Donkin, V., Mensah, D. H., Landy, M. S. H., Samonas, C., Morland, L., Doss, B. D., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2022). An uncontrolled trial of Couple HOPES: A guided online couple intervention for PTSD and relationships. Journal of Family Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000976

Fitzpatrick, S.,* Hien, D. A.,* Morgan-López, A., Saavedra, L., Norman, S., Back, S., Killeen, T., Ruglass, S., Lopez-Castro, T., & Ebhrahimi, C. (in press). What’s in a name? A data-driven method to identify optimal psychotherapy classifications to advance treatment research on co-occuring PTSD and substance use disorders. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 

*denotes co-first authorship

Fitzpatrick, S., Wagner, A. C., Crenshaw, A. O., Varma, S., Whitfield, K. M., Valela, R., … Monson, C. M. (in press). Initial outcomes of Couple HOPES: A guided online intervention for PTSD and relationship enhancement. Internet Interventions. 

Fitzpatrick, S.,Morgan-Lopez, A. A., Saraiya, T., Back, S. E., Killeen, T., Norman, S. B., … Hien, D. A. (2021). Graded response item response theory in scaling suicidal thoughts and behaviors among trauma-exposed individuals with substance use disorders. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Doi: 10.1037/adb0000757

Monson, C. M., Fitzpatrick, S., Wagner, A. C., Valela, R., Whitfield, K. M., Varma, S., Landy, M. S. H., Di Bartolomeo, A.,Crenshaw, A. O., Fulham, L., Morland, L., Knopp, K., Protctor, D. W., Toller, A., Webster, K., & Doss, B. D. (2021). The development of Couple HOPES: A guided online intervention for PTSD and relationship enhancement. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 21, 191789. Doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1917879

Fitzpatrick, S., Liebman, R., & Monson, C. M. (in press). The Borderline Interpersonal-Affective Systems (BIAS) Model: Extending understanding of the interpersonal context of borderline personality disorder. Clinical Psychology Review. 

Fitzpatrick, S.,* Dixon-Gordon, K.,*& Haliczer, L. (in press). Emotion regulation and borderline personality disorder features in daily life: The role of social context. Journal of Affective Disorders. 

*denotes co-first authorship

Fitzpatrick, S., Varma, S., & Kuo, J. R. (in press). Is borderline personality disorder really an emotion dysregulation disorder and, if so, how?: A comprehensive test across emotion dysregulation components. Psychological Medicine. 

Rizvi, S. L., & Fitzpatrick, S.(in press). Changes in suicide and non-suicidal self-injury ideation and the moderating role of specific emotions over the course of dialectical behavior therapy. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 

Dworkin, E., De Cou, C., & Fitzpatrick, S. (in press). Associations between sexual assault and suicidal thoughts and behavior: A meta-analysis. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.doi: 10.1037/tra0000570

Fitzpatrick, S., Saraiya, T., Lopez-Castro, T., Ruglass, L., & Hien, D. (2020). The impact of trauma characteristics on posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder outcomes across integrated and substance use treatments. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 113, 1-8. doi:0.1016/j.jsat.2020.01.012 

Fitzpatrick, S., Maich, K., Kuo, J. R., & Carney, C. (2020). Identifying specific insomnia components in borderline personality disorder and their influence on emotion dysregulation. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. doi: 10.1037/per0000395

Fitzpatrick, S., Kranzler, A., Fehling, K., Lindqvist, J., & Selby, E. (2020). Investigating the role of the intensity and duration of self-injury thoughts in self-injury with ecological momentary assessment. Psychiatry Research, 284, 1-8.doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112761

Fitzpatrick, S., Bailey, K., & Rizvi, S. L. (in press). Changes in emotions over the course of dialectical behavior therapy and the moderating role of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2019.12.009

Harned, M., Fitzpatrick, S.,& Schmidt, S.(in press). Identifying change targets for posttraumatic stress disorder among suicidal and self-injuring women with borderline personality disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33, 610-616.

Fitzpatrick, S., Ip, J., Krantz, L., Zeifman, R., & Kuo, J. R. (2019). Use your words: The role of emotion labeling in regulating emotion in borderline personality disorder. Behavior Research and Therapy, 120, 1-8. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2019.103447

Bender, T. W., Fitzpatrick, S., Hartmann, M., Hames, J., Bodell, L., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2019). Does it hurt to ask? An analysis of iatrogenic risk during suicide risk assessment. Neurology, Psychiatry, and Brain Research, 33, 73-81. doi: 10.1016/j.npbr.2019.07.005

Fitzpatrick, S., Zeifman, R., Krantz, L., McMain, S., & Kuo, J. R. (2019). Getting specific about emotion and self-inflicted injury: An examination across emotion processes. Archives of Suicide Research. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2019.1586605

Fitzpatrick, S., Khoury, J. E., Krantz, L., Zeifman, R., & Kuo, J. R. (2019). Next-day effects of dysfunctional and functional emotion regulation and the moderating role of experiential avoidance. Journal of Contextual and Behavioral Science, 12, 22-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.01.003Get

Fitzpatrick, S., Wagner, A., & Monson, C. (2019). Optimizing borderline personality disorder treatment by incorporating significant others: A review and synthesis. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 10, 297-308. doi: 10.1037/per0000328

Fitzpatrick, S., Macdonald, D. E., McFarlane, T., & Trottier, K. (2019). An experimental comparison of emotion regulation strategies in reducing acute distress in individuals with eating disorders. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 51, 90-99. doi: 10.1037/cbs0000119

Fitzpatrick, S., Khoury, J. E. & Kuo, J. R. (2018). Examining the relationship between emotion regulation deficits and borderline personality disorder features: A daily diary study. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 31, 42-58. doi: 10.1080/09515070.2016.1211509

Kuo, J. R., Fitzpatrick, S., Krantz, L. H., & Zeifman, R. (2017). How do you choose and how well does it work?: The selection and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies and their relationship with borderline personality disorder feature severity. Cognition and Emotion, 32, 632-640. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1330254

McMain, S., Fitzpatrick, S., Boritz, T., Barnhart, R., Links, P., & Streiner, D. (2017). Outcome trajectories and prognostic factors for suicide and self-harm behaviors in patients with borderline personality disorder following one year of outpatient psychotherapy. Journal of Personality Disorders, 14, 1-16. doi: 10.1521/pedi_2017_31_309

Metcalfe, R., Fitzpatrick, S., Kuo, J. R. (2017). A laboratory examination of emotion regulation skill strengthening in borderline personality disorder. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 8, 237-246. doi: 10.1037/per0000156

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. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.05.004

Kuo, J. R., Fitzpatrick, S., Metcalfe, R. M., & McMain, S. (2016). A multi-method laboratory investigation of emotional reactivity and volitional emotion regulation in borderline personality disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 52-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.05.002

Fitzpatrick, S., & Kuo, J. R. (2015). A comprehensive examination of delayed emotional recovery in borderline personality disorder. The Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 47, 51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2014.11.004

Kuo, J. R., Khoury, J. E., Metcalfe, R., Fitzpatrick, S., & Goodwill, A. (2015). An examination of the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and borderline personality disorder features: The role of difficulties with emotion regulation. Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 39, 147-155. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.08.008

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. doi: 10.1007/s10862-013-9378-x

SELECTED BOOK CHAPTERS

Fitzpatrick, S., & Dixon-Gordon, K. (accepted). Emotion regulation and personality disorders. In B. Ford & J. Gross (Eds.), Handbook of Emotion Regulation, 3rd ed. 

Fitzpatrick, S., & Rizvi, S. L. (in press). Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT): Assessment and case conceptualization. Waves of behavior therapy: First, second, and third waves. New York, NY: Springer. 

Fitzpatrick, S., Jarnecke, A., Back, S., Straus, L., Norman, S., & Hien, D. (in press). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In K. Brady, F. R. Levin, M. Galanter, and H. D. Kieber (Eds.), The American Psychiatric Press Textbook of Substance Abuse: Sixth edition (745-758). Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association 

Dworkin, E. R., Ojalehto, H., Brill, C., Fitzpatrick, S.,Bedard-Gilligan, M., & Kaysen, D. (in press). Understanding PTSD and sexual assault. In W. O’Donohue, C. Cummings, & P. Schewe (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault and sexual assault prevention(293-308).New York, NY: Springer. 

Fitzpatrick, S. & Kuo, J. R. (2016). Borderline personality disorder. In A. Carr (Ed.), Handbook of adult clinical psychology: Second edition(953-989). London, UK: Routledge. 

Kuo, J. R., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy. In E. S. Neukrug (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of theory in counselling and psychotherapy (292-297).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Affiliations

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Member

Ontario Psychological Association
C. Psych.

Service/Community Activities

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Program Committee Member Award Committee Member

Awards

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship - 2018

Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal Award - 2018

The University of Washington Internship Director’s Prize: The Nancy Robinson, Ph.D. Award for Outstanding Overall Achievement - 2018

Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence - 2018

Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT): Student Travel Award - 2016

Ontario Mental Health Foundation Studentship Award - 2015

American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award - 2015

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award - 2013

Institute for Stress and Wellbeing Harry Rosen Research Grant - 2015

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program award - 2012

Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award - 2013

SSHRC Joseph-Armand-Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship - 2011

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program award - 2011

Supervision

Currently available to supervise graduate students: No

Currently taking on work-study students, Graduate Assistants or Volunteers: No

Available to supervise undergraduate thesis projects: No

Current Research

My research involves identifying and refining ways to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD) and suicidality, with and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have two streams of research that work towards this goal. First, I use experimental, ecological momentary assessment, and other translational science paradigms to identify which specific strategies work in the treatment of BPD and how. Second, I directly study BPD and PTSD treatments themselves with a particular focus on dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). To this end, I have recently become particularly focused on harnessing the power of relationships to treat BPD and/or PTSD through conjoint and dyadic interventions.  

Research Projects

A randomized controlled trial testing Sage: A couple intervention for borderline personality disorder
Randomized controlled trial testing novel couple intervention for couples wherein one member has borderline personality disorder compared to a standard care control
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $952425
Year Funded: 2024
Duration: 5
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Expanding a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Couple Internet-Delivered PTSD Intervention to Reach Military Members, Veterans, and First Responders with COVID-19-Related Trauma Exposure
Expanding an existing randomized controlled trial of an online, self-help intervention for couples wherein one member has Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to a sample of Military Members, Veterans, First Responders, and Healthcare workers with COVID-19 related PTSD.
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $200000
Year Funded: 2020
Duration: 1
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

How do communication behaviours contribute to and buffer against suicidal and self-injurious acts in couples wherein one member has borderline personality disorder?
Examining how couples wherein one member with borderline personality disorder (BPD) interact, and how such interactions influence suicidal and self-injurious behaviour.
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $555774
Year Funded: 2021
Duration: 5
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Initial Testing of a Couple Intervention to Optimize Suicide and Self-Injury Treatment: COMPASS (Connecting, Overcoming, and Moving Past Suicide and Self-injury)
Developing and testing a new conjoint therapy for couples wherein one member has borderline personality disorder and struggles with suicidality or self-injurious behaviour
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $30000 USD
Year Funded: 2020
Duration: 2
Funded by: Other...
Other funding: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Initial Testing of a Guided, Internet-delivered Couple Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Relationship Enhancement: Couple HOPES
Conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial of an online, self-help intervention for couples wherein one member has PTSD.
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $100000
Year Funded: 2020
Duration: 2
Funded by: Other...
Other funding: Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) True Patriot Love Foundation