Personality Disorders

Question 1

A PD is a long lasting rigid pattern of thought & behaviour that falls outside of the “normal expectations” and so causes harm/distress to the individual or her contacts

Answer 1

It’s important to remember that anyone can have a PD type personality but if it isn’t causing any problems it’s not a disorder

Question 2

Here’s some criteria that describe a PD:

Answer 2

Markedly disharmonious attitudes/behaviours
Chronic & Pervasive (not episodic)
Present in wide range of social situations
Appear young and carry into adulthood
Cause significant personal distress
Oft associated with great work & social problems

Question 3

There are 3 clusters to PDs, what are they?

Answer 3

A - Odd or eccentric (traditionally MAD) - problem with relationships

B - Dramatic or emotional (traditionally BAD) - Problem with control & Stability

C - Anxious or avoidant (traditionally SAD) - Problem with anxiety & managing it in relationships

Question 4

What PDs fall into each cluster?

Answer 4

A - SP
Schizoid PD
Paranoid PD
Schizotypal Personality Disorder (Not in ICD-10 as a Personality Disorder)


B - BAN
 Borderline PD
Narcissistic PD 
 Antisocial PD
Histrionic Personality Disorder
(rare)

C - ADO
Dependant PD
OCPD
Avoidant PD

Question 5

Describe a schizoid PD

Answer 5

Appear cold & detached, taking little interest in relationships, sex or praise/criticism
Also take pleasure in few activities

Question 6

Describe a Paranoid PD

Answer 6

They have a pervasive suspicion or others & their motives, reading hidden meaning, attacks or betrayal into everything

Question 7

Describe a Narcissitic PD

Answer 7

Not present in ICD-10

Tend to be grandiose with a need for admiration as well as lacking empathy and taking advantage.
have deep rooted feelings of inadequacy so deny it. its hard to get close to them

Question 8

Describe a Borderline PD

Answer 8

Instability in relationships, self-image, affects and impulsivity.
anti-depressants don’t work on these people.
though disease improves over time with therapy

high rate of self harm

Mentalization-Based Treatment

Question 9

Describe an Antisocial PD

Answer 9

Dissocial Personality Disorder in ICD-10

Disregard & violate the rights of others

criminals

Question 10

Describe a Dependant PD

Answer 10

Excessive need to be taken care of leads them to submissive, clingy behaviour and a fear of seperation

Question 11

Describe an Obsessive Compulsive PD

Answer 11

Anankastic Personality Disorder in ICD-10

Preoccupied with orderliness, control & perfectionism to the point of sacrificing flexibility, openness & efficiency

improve in psychodynamic psychotherapy

rare someone comes in with OCD episode- usually someone with OCPD and have had something happen–> symptomatic anxiety disorder and improve with treatment of that but still have the OCPD.

Question 12

Describe an Avoidant PD

Answer 12

Severe anxiety with a pattern of social inhibition, feeling inadequate and hypersensitivity to -ve evaluation

Question 13

What is Psychopathy?

Answer 13

An extreme form of Antisocial PD
They display antisocial behaviour, callous disregard for others and a complete lack of empathy

It requires a long Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) to diagnose

Question 14

What are we treating in a PD?

Answer 14

It’s not a mental illness as such. It’s a person with an extreme personality who needs help integrating into society, hence it’s psychological therapies not medicines.

Although they tend to suffer from higher rates of substance abuse, suicide and other mental illnesses which can be handled as per.

Question 15

How do we treat PD?

Answer 15

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
Psychodynamic Psychosocial Therapy
Mentalisation based Therapy

Question 16

Schizotypal PD (Not in ICD-10 as a Personality Disorder)
?

Answer 16

not a PD but a Schizophrenia-spectrum condition.

patients are odd—eccentric beyond eccentric.