Mark L. Ruffalo, MSW, DPsa

Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida, and serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Instructor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has broad clinical experience in the psychoanalytic treatment of a range of psychiatric conditions with particular interest in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

During his training at the University of Pittsburgh, Mark had the unique opportunity to work with severely ill patients in long-term psychotherapy, an area in which he has developed recognized expertise. He has published previously in the American Journal of Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Psychiatry, Psychiatric Times, and the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. He currently serves as Co-Director of the Psychotherapy Track at the UCF/HCA Orlando Psychiatry Residency Program and is the Founding Editor of The Carlat Psychotherapy Report.

His current research interests include the object relations theory of borderline personality disorder; communication dilemmas, paradoxes, and double binds in personality pathology; and deficits in logical reasoning in psychotic and borderline states. He is the recipient of the 2023-2024 Excellence in Psychotherapy Supervision and Teaching Award from the UCF/HCA Orlando Psychiatry Residency Program.

Mark sees patients at his private office in Tampa on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. He frequently works in collaboration with psychiatrists but does not prescribe medication. Formal consultation or psychotherapy can occur if you are located in Florida. For out-of-state residents, Mark can provide expert informal consultation or offer a second opinion on psychiatric diagnosis and recommended course of treatment.

He is licensed in the State of Florida as a licensed clinical social worker.