The Personality Disorder Toolbox: The Challenge of the Hidden Agenda
Course Content
After Jeff Riggenbach’s CBT Toolbox sold, clinicians kept asking him the same question at conference breaks and by email. These tools are good. Can I use them with personality disorders? His answer was honest and not much use: a lot of them yes, some no, several only if you change how and when you use them. Not something you can convey in thirty seconds at a break.
So he wrote a book about borderline personality disorder, which won a publishing award and produced the same question again, one step along. These work with my borderline clients. Do they work with the others? At which point he decided every one of the ten disorders deserved its own treatment: its own cognitive constellation, its own case conceptualisation, and its own tools drawn from the evidence base for that specific disorder.
This is that work, at eleven hours, and he is upfront that it is roughly a fifth of what is in the book. Six sessions: the foundations, including what actually makes a disorder rather than an unhelpful trait; conceptualisation and treatment planning; Cluster A and C; the narcissistic, antisocial and histrionic presentations; borderline personality disorder on its own; and relapse prevention. The hidden agenda of the title is the organising idea, since each disorder brings a particular set of aims into the room that the clinician is usually responding to without having named.
You’ll walk away with
- The essential characteristics of each personality disorder in the DSM-5, and what separates a disorder from a trait that simply does not serve someone
- The hidden agenda each disorder brings into the room, named so you can work with it rather than around it
- Where these disorders come from, and why aetiology changes the treatment plan
- Evidence-based treatments for personality disorders, which he argues most clinicians do not know exist
- Assessing treatability and prognosis honestly, before committing to a course of work
- Case conceptualisation as the basis for a treatment plan rather than a formality
- Cluster A and Cluster C disorders, which get far less attention than they warrant
- Narcissistic, antisocial and histrionic presentations handled together, since they present together
- Borderline personality disorder with a session of its own
- Managing suicidality, violence and self-harm across the disorders
- Where CBT and DBT each earn their place, and where they do not
- Schema work versus mode work, and which disorders respond better to which
- Your own frustration tolerance with this client group, treated as a clinical skill rather than a character test
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CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Where this sits: this is the survey across all ten personality disorders. Separate courses go deeper into borderline personality disorder and into schema-focused work.
Course Duration: [N] learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Meet Your Instructor
High-conflict personalities, treatment-resistant clients, and complex cases involving borderline personality disorder can leave clinicians feeling frustrated and ineffective - but these challenging presentations don't have to derail therapeutic progress. Jeff Riggenbach has spent over 20 years developing practical, evidence-based tools that help transform how practitioners work with their most difficult cases, earning him international recognition as "the practical tools guy" and becoming one of the world's most sought-after trainers in cognitive behavioral interventions.
As a three-time bestselling, award-winning author and Diplomat of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, Dr. Riggenbach brings unparalleled expertise in translating complex therapeutic concepts into immediately usable clinical tools. His books The CBT Toolbox and The BPD Toolbox (Amazon #1 new release) have become essential resources for practitioners worldwide, while his latest work Disarming High Conflict Personalities addresses one of the most challenging aspects of clinical and organisational work. His training at the Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and Research, combined with 20 years directing CBT-based treatment programs in psychiatric hospitals where he served over 3,000 clients, gives him deep understanding of what actually works with resistant populations.
Dr. Riggenbach's expertise spans Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Schema-Focused Cognitive Therapy, personality disorders treatment (especially Borderline Personality Disorder), trauma and addiction, and high-conflict personality management. His approach bridges the gap between academic research and frontline clinical reality, showing practitioners how to adapt evidence-based techniques for clients who don't fit textbook presentations. He specialises in cases where traditional therapy approaches have failed, particularly with clients who are hostile, manipulative, or treatment-resistant.
What sets his training apart is practical applicability under real-world conditions. Riggenbach doesn't just teach theory - he shows clinicians exactly what to say and do when facing their most challenging moments. His international training reach across all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, UK, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa demonstrates his ability to adapt techniques across diverse populations and practice settings.
For your practice, expect to gain specific intervention scripts for difficult situations, tools for managing your own emotional responses to challenging clients, and frameworks for maintaining therapeutic progress with treatment-resistant cases. His approach particularly benefits clinicians working in high-stress environments, those dealing with personality disorders, or practitioners who feel burned out from difficult cases.
Quick Win: Riggenbach's "emotional regulation interrupt" technique helps clinicians quickly de-escalate volatile therapeutic situations while maintaining professional boundaries - helping to prevent session ruptures and keeping treatment on track.
Qualifications
- Ph.D., Christian Counseling
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Oklahoma, current
- Diplomat of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy
- Certified Cognitive Therapist, Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and Research, Philadelphia
- John Maxwell Team Certified Speaker/Trainer/Coach
- Certified Behavioral Consultant
- 20+ years clinical experience
Authored Books
- Disarming High Conflict Personalities: Dealing with the 8 Most Difficult People in Your Life Before You Burnout (latest release)
- The BPD Toolbox: A Practical Evidence-Based Guide to Regulating Intense Emotions (2016, Amazon #1 new release, award-winning)
- The CBT Toolbox: A Workbook for Clients, Clinicians and Coaches (2012, 1st and 2nd editions, bestseller)
- Seven total publications
Professional Experience
- International Speaker/Trainer/Coach, John Maxwell Team, current
- Clinical Director, Private Practice/Consulting, current
- Award-Winning Author & Behavioral Consultant, Tulsa, OK, current
- APA & NBCC/ACEP Approved Provider, Continuing Education Credits, current
- Director, CBT-based treatment programs, Two psychiatric hospitals (20 years, served 3,000+ clients)
- Treatment Program Developer, Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, BPD programs, Two psychiatric hospitals
- Staff Member, Brookhaven Psychiatric Hospital, Tulsa, OK
International Training Reach
- Trained audiences in all 50 United States, Canada, Mexico, UK, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland
- Conference keynote addresses and specialised workshops worldwide
Ready to work confidently with your most challenging clients? Discover how Dr. Riggenbach's practical, evidence-based tools can help transform your ability to achieve breakthrough results with treatment-resistant cases while maintaining your own professional well-being.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 2
- Topics 7
- Duration 11 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English