lecture 1&2 Flashcards
3P’s
persistent (over time), pervasive (across different contexts), pathological (markedly deviates from normal).
diathesis-stress model
there’s a lot of comorbidity, which suggests a role of genes, but we
don’t know a lot about that.
Paranoid PD
“We all have a certain degree of paranoia, which is healthy, but if you question everyone it becomes pathological”
Schizoid PD
Dexter in the very first episodes, no desire in social relationships, lives very limited, doesn’t need any social
interaction, little connectedness
Schizotypal PD
Willy Wonk
Antisocial PD
“I just do my own thing, whatever I’m doing I don’t really care about rights and boundaries and consequences”
Borderline PD
Angelina Jolie, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Brittney Spears
Histrionic PD
Regina George (Mean Girls), Kim Kardashian
Narcissistic PD
Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump, Kanye West
“me, myself, and I”
Avoidant PD
Michael Jackson
Dependent PD
If they don’t cling to others, they don’t know what to do with their fear
Obsessive-compulsive PD
Steve Jobs; I care about the rules because the rules are important to me and they should be important to you too
Neurotic level personality structure
a high level of capacity to function despite emotional suffering; somewhat integrated sense of identity; in solid touch with reality
Therapeutic split (TS)
capacity of the patient to distinguish between the observing and experiencing parts of the self
Neurotic level people
- basic trust
- basic autonomy
- at least some progress toward identity integration and a sense of initiative
Reason of therapy - neurotic level ppl
- running into obstacles in getting what they want
- patient and therapist are on the same side
Psychotic level personality structure
internally desperate and disorganised, illogical thinking, hallucinations and delusions, especially during stress;
They have great difficulties with identity; no sense go continuity of identity of self and others.
-> lack reflective functioning ( difficulties with abstraction)
symbiotic-
psychotic internal world
“paranoid-schizoid”; They function, sometimes quite effectively, but they strike one as confused and deeply terrified, and their thinking feels disorganized
or paranoid.
defences used by psychotic level PS
withdrawal,
denial, omnipotent control, primitive idealization and devaluation, primitive forms of projection and introjection, splitting, extreme
dissociation, acting out, and somatization.
Energic aspects of psychotic level
hey were expending so much energy fighting off existential terror that none
was left to use in the service of coping with reality.
Primary conflict psychotic level
life versus death, existence versus
obliteration, safety versus terror
Positive countertransference
Psychotic people are so desperate for respect and hope that they may be deferential and grateful to any therapist who does more than classify and medicate them. Their gratitude is naturally touching.
Therapeutic relation with psychotic level patients
People with psychotic tendencies are particularly appreciative of sincerity. Psychotic-level clients may also appreciate educative efforts and may respond with relief to the normalization or reframing of their preoccupations.
• They are wonderful in their attachment, yet terrifying in their needs. This consuming feature of their psychology is one reason that many therapists prefer not to work with individuals with schizophrenia and other psychoses.
Borderline personality organization
- -> use of primitive defences
- -> it is possible to confront
- -> their self is full of inconsistency and discontinuity
- -> unable to mentalist (lack of theory of mind)
- -> trouble with affect tolerance and regulation –> results in anger
- -> may have identity confusion but they know they exist
Defences used by borderline PL
denial, projective identification, and splitting
–> sometimes hard to distinguish from psychotic PL
Reality testing
The borderline person will acknowledge that the feature is unconventional and that outsiders might not understand its significance. The psychotic person is likely to become frightened and confused because the sense that he or she is not understood is deeply disturbing.
Treatment of borderline PL
- -> interventions that the therapist intends to be helpful are received as attacks.
- -> When they feel close to another person, they panic because they fear engulfment and total control; when they are alone, they feel traumatically abandoned.
- -> Transference in borderline clients tend to be strong, unambivalent, and resistant to ordinary kinds of intervention. The therapist may be perceived as all good or all bad.
- -> Countertransference reactions with borderline clients tend to be strong and upsetting.