PhD projects

PhD projects in progress

• Gaute Graasvoll: Improving treatment through better assessment - Eight-year Follow-up of the Norwegian Study of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders. Affiliation/funding: Hospital of Southern Norway/ South Eastern Health Authorities. Main supervisor: Tor-Erik Nysaeter, Co-supervisors: Benjamin Hummelen and Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein.
• Kjetil Bremer: Clinical utility of personality disorder treatment (The TREATPD Study) Affiliation/funding: Oslo University Hospital/ South Eastern Health Authorities. Main supervisor: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein Co-supervisors: Geir Pedersen, Benjamin Hummelen and Helene Nissen-Lie.
• Tuva Langjord: Extreme challenges – Psychopathology and treatment experiences among extensively hospitalized, psychiatric inpatients with severe self-harming behavior in Norway. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital/Damm Foundation. Main supervisor: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein; Co-supervisors: Hanne Strømme and Geir Pedersen.
• Fillip Ferreira Eikeseth: Pain, personality, and polygenic risk - Chronic pain among patients with personality disorders. Main supervisor: Gunnvald Kvarstein, Department of Pain Management and Research, Oslo University Hospital.
• Dag Anders Ulvestad: Minding mentalizing. A new method for assessing mentalizing capacity in research and clinical practice. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg. Co-supervisors: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein and Geir Pedersen.
• Eileen Oftedal: Bridging affect consciousness, mentalization and trauma - Exploring an integrative treatment approach for Personality Disorder. Main supervisor: Ole André Solbakken, Co- supervisors: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein and Jon Trygve Monsen.
• Ingvild Kalsnes Jørstad Aurebekk: The Norwegian Study of the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders - Junior (NorAMP-J) . Affiliation/funding: Østfold hospital. Main supervisor: Benjamin Hummelen.

Doctoral dissertations

1. Randi Breivik: Countertransference in the treatment of patients with personality disorders. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Geir Pedersen. Co-supervisors: Jan Ivar Røssberg and Hanne-Sofie Johnsen Dahl.
2. Aleksander Gulla Heltne: Clinician perspectives in the development of a computer-assisted instrument for the assessment of personality disorders: Learnability, clinical utility and ease of use, 2024. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital/ Research council of Norway. Main supervisor: Muirne C. S. Paap. Co-supervisors: Benjamin Hummelen, Sara Germans Selvik, and Erik Falkum.
3. Espen Folmo: Measuring MBT – A marriage of the common and specific psychotherapy factors, 2021. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein; Co-supervisors: Erik Stänicke and Sigmund Karterud.
4. Tore Buer Christensen: Towards a more valid and useful system for diagnosing personality disorders - Evaluating impairment of personality functioning by the SCID-5-AMPD-I, 2020. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Sørlandet Hospital. Main supervisor: Benjamin Hummelen; Co-supervisor: Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein.
5. Kristine Dahl Sørensen: Lived experience of avoidant personality disorder: How people diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder make sense of their everyday life and challenges, 2020, Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Sørlandet Hospital/Damm Foundation, Main supervisor: Marit Råbu, Co-supervisor: Theresa Wilberg.
6. Jane Fjermestad-Noll: Narcissism and Depression. Personality pathology, psychological factors and pattern of depressive symptoms in patients with narcissistic disturbances, 2019, University of Copenhagen. Main supervisor: Erik Simonsen, Co-supervisor: Bo Bach.
7. Line Indrevoll Stänicke: The punished self, the unknown self, and the harmed self - towards a more nuanced understanding of self-harm in adolescence, 2019. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Lovisenberg Hospital/Damm Foundation. Main supervisor: Siri E. Gullestad. Co-supervisor: Hanne Haavind.
8. Katharina T.E Morken: Mentalization-based treatment of female patients with severe personality disorder and substance use disorder, 2018. Affiliation/funding: University of Bergen/ The Bergen Clinic Foundation. Main supervisor: Per Einar Binder; Co-supervisors: Sigmund Karterud and Helge Molde.
9. Merete Selsbakk Johansen: Affect consciousness, reflective functioning, and assessment of primary emotions in patients with personality disorders, 2016. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisor: Geir Pedersen.
10. Bjørnar Torske Antonsen: Long Term Clinical Outcome of Psychotherapeutic Treatment for Patients with Personality Disorders: Findings from a Randomized Study, 2016. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital/ Damm Foundation. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisor: Sigmund Karterud.
11. Ingeborg Helene Ulltveit-Moe Eikenæs: Avoidant Personality Disorder (AvPD) and Social Phobia (SP) – studies of personality functioning, attachment and childhood experiences, 2016. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Vestfold Health Trust. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisors: Jens Egeland and Egil Martinsen.
12. Erlend Bøen: Clinical and brain structural features of borderline personality disorder, 2015, University of Oslo, Main supervisor: Ulrik Fredrik Malt.
13. Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein: Psychotherapy of personality disorder: Large variations in the severity and longitudinal course of global functioning, symptom distress, and costs of health services, 2013. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/Diakonhjemmet Hospital. Main supervisor: Sigmund Karterud; Co-supervisor: Svein Friis.
14. Tor Erik Nysæther: Outpatient treatments of patients with Borderline personality disorder Studies of attrition, co-morbidity and effectiveness, 2012, Affiliation/funding: NTNU/Sørlandet Hospital/Norwegian Research Council/Damm Foundation. Main supervisor: Hans M Nordahl.
15. Frida S Gullestad: Is there an optimal treatment format for personality disorders? Findings from a randomized clinical trial, 2012. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisor: Helge Rønnestad.
16. Vidar Hallsteinli: Measuring efficiency in mental health service delivery: a study of outpatient units in Norway, 2010. Affiliation/funding: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
17. Espen Arnevik: Treatment of patients with Personality disorders: Day hospital treatment followed by combined psychotherapy compared with outpatient individual treatment, 2009. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital/ South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisor: Jon Monsen.
18. Geir Arild Feigum Pedersen: Psychological assessments in clinical settings: Evaluation and clinical utility of psychometric measures for the treatment of patients with personality disorders, 2008. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Sigmund Karterud; Co-supervisor: Knut A Hagtvet.
19. Benjamin Hummelen: Validity studies of three DSM-IV personality disorder constructs: Obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, and personality disorder not otherwise specified, 2008. Affiliation/funding: University of Oslo/ Oslo University Hospital. Main supervisor: Theresa Wilberg; Co-supervisor: Sigmund Karterud.
20. Theresa Wilberg: Clinical studies of personality disordered patients treated in a psychotherapeutic day unit, with emphasis on assessment, treatment and course, 2000. Main supervisor: Svein Friis; Co-supervisor: Sigmund Karterud
21. Lars Mehlum: Clinical studies of suicidal behaviour in the young with special reference to personality disorders, 1995.
22. Sigmund Karterud: Group processes in therapeutic communities, 1989.