Personality Disorders

Question 1

How is personality defined?

Answer 1

A persistent pattern of thinking and feeling and behaving that is pervasive across situations and enduring over time

Question 2

What are the elements of the five factor model?

Answer 2

OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism)

Question 3

How is Personality Disorder defined (Milton)?

Answer 3

Functional inflexibility, Self-defeating behaviour patterns, Tenuous stability under stress

Question 4

How is Personality Disorder diagnosed?

Answer 4

DSM-5 defines personality disorders as: enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts

These patterns must differ from the individual’s cultural group and cause significant personal distress and impairment in functioning

Question 5

What are the 3 different clusters of Personality Disorders?

Answer 5

Cluster A—odd or eccentric traits and behaviours

Cluster B—dramatic, emotional, erratic traits

Cluster C—anxious and fearful traits

Question 6

What are the 10 distinct Personality Disorder Types?

Answer 6

Paranoid
Schiziod
Schizotypal
Antisocial
Borderline
Histronic
Narcissistic
Avoidant
Dependant
Obsessive-compulsive

Question 7

What is Beck’s cognitive model?

Answer 7

Role of dysfunctional core beliefs about themselves, others and the world

Question 8

What are Factor Approaches to Personality Disorder?

Answer 8

Degree to which person demonstrates certain traits and combinations of traits

Question 9

What is Schema Therapy?

Answer 9

Young’s schema therapy: an innovative, integrated therapeutic approach, originally developed as an expansion of traditional cognitive–behavioral treatments

-

Question 10

What is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy?

Answer 10

Help struggling individuals identify and positively change negative thinking patterns.

Biosocial model: due to interaction between biologically-based vulnerability and ‘invalidating’ environments

Question 11

What is Ryle and Cognitive Analytic Therapy?

Answer 11

Links cognitive psychology with object relations approach

Reciprocal role procedures: complimentary patterns regarding how individual enacts in relationships

Therapy: helping the person to develop an understanding of these reciprocal role procedures

Question 12

What is mentalisation-based treatment?

Answer 12

Integrates object relations theory and attachment theory…for borderline personality disorder

Mentalisation: the capacity to think about one’s mental state and the mental states of others

Therapeutic relationship used to stabilise sense of self

Enhance capacity to know their own mind and that of others

Question 13

What are early-intervention programs?

Answer 13

Reluctance to make a diagnosis before 18 years of age but symptoms often begin during adolescence or early adulthood

Can promote more adaptive developmental pathways, reduce psychopathology, and improve general functioning

Question 14

What causes Cluster A Disorders?

Answer 14

Genetically-based neurological abnormalities combined with certain environmental conditions, Predispose to developing odd, eccentric or psychotic features

Question 15

What causes Antisocial Personality Disorder (Cluster B)?

Answer 15

Interaction between genetic vulnerability and adverse environmental conditions

Question 16

What causes Borderline Personality Disorder (Cluster B)?

Answer 16

Role of genetics. Other biological influences, Strong association with psychosocial factors (e.g., childhood trauma)

Question 17

How is Borderline Personality Disorder treated?

Answer 17

DBT as well as psychodynamic, CBT, schema therapy and cognitive analytic therapy

Question 18

What causes Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Cluster B)?

Answer 18

Invalidated childhood experiences

Question 19

How is Narcissistic Personality Disorder treated?

Answer 19

Tend not to seek help unless experiencing distress related to other difficulties

Question 20

What causes Histrionic Personality Disorder (Cluster B)?

Answer 20

Role of inconsistent, intense and non-empathic parent child interactions

Question 21

How is Histrionic Personality Disorder treated?

Answer 21

Are help seekers, Limited empirical work for treatments. CBT: for identifying and challenging assumptions about dependency on others

Question 22

What causes Avoidant Personality Disorders (Cluster C)?

Answer 22

Modest genetic contribution, Childhood neglect and early rejection experiences

Question 23

How is Avoidant Personality Disorder treated?

Answer 23

• Seek treatment for comorbid disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety)
• CBT, social skills training and psychodynamic therapies
• Behavioural techniques aimed at countering social avoidance

Question 24

What causes Dependent Personality Disorders (Cluster C)?

Answer 24

Genetic predisposition or vulnerability

Early physical abuse may lead to DPD

Question 25

How is Dependent Personality Disorder treated?

Answer 25

Schema therapy and DBT trials promising

Behavioural strategies for anxiety management

Question 26

What causes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?

Answer 26

Moderate genetic contribution

Core beliefs regarding the intolerable nature of perceived faults or flaws

Question 27

How is obsessive-compulsive personality disorder treated?

Answer 27

Seek help for comorbid anxiety or depression

Some support for CBT

Question 28

What is the treatment for Cluster A Disorders?

Answer 28

Limited empirical evidence, Treatment difficulty due to intimacy and trust issues, CBT and some medications may be of benefit

Question 29

How is Antisocial Personality Disorder Treatment?

Answer 29

Generally focuses on comorbid disorders (e.g., substance use) and risk management, Trials of mentalisation-based treatment, Debate about the use of antidepressants as well as lithium and antipsychotic medication (for impulsive and aggressive behaviours)