Personality Disorders Abnormal Psychology Ms. Rebecca

What is Personality? A person’s traits that don’t change.

What is a personality disorder? When someone has personality traits that cause pain in themselves or others.

Types of Personality Disorders Paranoid Schizoid Schizotypal Avoidant Dependent Antisocial Borderline Histrionic Narcissistic Obsessive Compulsive

Paranoid Suspicious, sees hidden meaning in what is said. Fears betrayal. Reluctant to confide in others Treatment: mild = psychoanalytic

Schizoid No close friends. Aloof, detached. Does not desire relationships. Likes solitary activities. Indifferent to praise or criticism. Treatment: increase cognitive awareness of how personality is causing problems; If they pick the right job they may achieve highly; educate family and boss of situation.

Schizotypal Social/interpersonal defecits: suspicious thinking, strange beliefs, strange speech (vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate), eccentric behavior or appearance, unusual perceptions, excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity. Treatment: clarify reality, suggest alternative ways of acting.

Avoidant Inhibited by others; limits social contace; fears criticism and rejection; views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, avoids others. Treatment: psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral desensitization.

Dependent Difficulty with every day decisions, wants others to make decisions for them; fears taking care of self; passive; difficulty starting projects; urgently seeks a new relationship when an old one ends. Treatment: cognitive behavior therapy and group therapy.

Antisocial Irresponsible. Deceitful; poor regard for the rights of others; lack of empathy and remorse; violates social norms; exploitative; impulsive; evidence of conduct disorder (breaking the law). Treatment: time; impulsivity lessens by age 40; treat possible substance abuse coexisting disorder.

Borderline Strong and continual feelings of emptiness, mood instability, fears abandonment, unstable self image; impulsive relationships; suicidal gestures; self- mutilation; innappropriate/difficult to control anger. Treatment: Deal with depression and substance abuse; cognitive behavior therapy

Histrionic Seeks to be center of attention, often using physical appearance to get attention. Often sexually provocative; emotionally shallow; quickly assumes more intimacy than exists early in relationships. Treatment: Same gender therapist, group theerapy (share the attention).

Narcissistic Inflated sense of self; arrogant, deficient in empathy; sees self as special; sense of entitlement. Treatment: long term, psychodynamic and cognitive approach.

Explaining Personality Disorders Psychoanalytic: Childhood experiences teach children to get along with other people. If children are never reinforced for good behaviorand only get attention when they behave badly, they may learn anti-social behavior.

Explaining Personality Disorders Other psychoanalytic ideas: Antisocial personality disorder develops when a child lacks appropriate role models and when the role models they have are aggressive or mean.

Biological Views There ARE some genetic factors for personality. Ex: antisocial personality disorder tends to run in families Some evidence that people with antisocial personality diosorder have fewer neurons in the frontal part of the brain than other people.

Biological Views BUT, it is very unlikely that biological factors are the ONLY reasons people develop personality disorders.

Let’s Review! Fill in the blank worksheet Good news: The Treatment of personality disorders is much more straight forward. Let’s find out more from Dr. Phil!