Dr. Katherine L. Dixon-Gordon

Dr. Dixon-Gordon is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Program of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her BSc in Psychology from the University of Washington, where she worked with Dr. Marsha Linehan, the founder of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She received her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Simon Fraser University, under the mentorship of Dr. Alex Chapman. Dr. Dixon-Gordon completed her residency and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she worked with Dr. Kim Gratz. 

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Her research focuses on understanding how emotions and the way people manage them can lead to self-destructive behaviors and other problems, especially in the context of psychopathology, with a focus on borderline personality disorder (BPD). This research uses laboratory-based and longitudinal and micro-longitudinal research, as well as clinical trials to identify how to relieve self-destructive behaviors and emotional suffering.

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In addition, Dr. Dixon-Gordon is a licensed clinical psychologist, and is board-certified in DBT, and is a DBT Trainer at Behavioral Tech LLC. She directs the DBT Program in the Psychological Services Center at UMass. Her clinical work focuses on evidence-based treatments for people who struggle with self-destructive behaviors and emotion dysregulation, to help them build a life worth living.