Personality Disorder

Question 1

What are some of the problems associated with treating patients with personality disorders?

Answer 1

Need to acquire a range of life and emotional control skills, therapists may be better employed trying to ‘normalize’ extreme behavior styles than change ingrained behavior patterns completely, comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, Individuals often do not see their enduring patterns of behaviour as problematic

Question 2

What are some theories on the etiology of narcissistic personality disorder?

Answer 2

Kohut’s self-pcyhology model (characteristics mask low self-esteem, in childhood narcissist valued as a means to increase parent’s own self-esteem)
Social cognitive model (low self-esteem, relationships are a way to boost self-esteem)

Question 3

What is Linehan’s diathesis-stress model for the etiology of borderline personality disorder?

Answer 3

Difficulties controlling emotions (possible biological diathesis) -> family invalidates emotional experiences and expressions -> interaction between extreme emotional reactivity and invalidating family

Question 4

Clusters of personality disorders

Answer 4

ODD/eccentric, dramatic/erratic, anxious/fearful

Question 5

Diagnoses of ODD cluster

Answer 5

Paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal

Question 6

Diagnoses of personality disorders in dramatic cluster

Answer 6

Antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic

Question 7

Diagnoses of anxious/fearful cluster

Answer 7

Avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive

Question 8

Main characteristics of personality disorders

Answer 8

Comorbidity with other psychiatric disorder, results in impairment of social and occupational functioning, represents a stable pattern of behaving that can be traced back to childhood or adolescence, associated with unusual way of interpreting events, unpredictable mood swings or impulsive behavior, enduring pattern of behavior that deviates markedly from expectations within the culture

Question 9

What people with personality disorder usually seek help for?

Answer 9

The consequences of their behavior but not the disorder itself

Question 10

Characteristics of histrionic personality disorder

Answer 10

5 or more signs of excessive emotionality and attention seeking in many contexts

Question 11

Characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder

Answer 11

Grandiose view of self, self-centeredness, sensitive to criticism, seeks out high status partners

Question 12

Characteristics of antisocial personality disorder

Answer 12

Disregard for the rights of others, patterns of irresponsible behaviors, evidence of conduct disorder before the age of 15, comorbid substance use is common, poverty of emotion and impulsivity

Question 13

Characteristics of borderline personality disorder

Answer 13

Impulsive and self-damaging behaviors, unstable, stormy and intense relationships, emotional reactivity, frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, unstable sense of self, anger-control problems, chronic feelings of emptiness, recurrent suicidal gestures, transit psychotic or dissociative symptoms

Question 14

Characteristics of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Answer 14

Perfectionism, overly focused on work, reluctant to make decision or delegate, “control freaks”, preoccupied with rules, details, schedules and organization

Question 15

Characteristics of avoidant personality disorder

Answer 15

Fears criticism, rejection and disapproval. Pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy and hypersensitivity to criticism in many contexts.

Question 16

Characteristics of dependent personality disorder

Answer 16

An excessive need to ba taken care of

Question 17

Characteristics of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Answer 17

Perfectionism, overly focused on work, reluctant to make decision or delegate, “control freaks”, preoccupied with rules, details, schedules and organization, usually comorbid with avoidant personality disorder