Assignment: Personality Disorders

I cannot believe these people. Don't they know who I am? I deserve better treatment than this. That hostess should have seated me immediately, but I had to wait for 10 minutes and then she put me at this table right by the kitchen. I see an empty table right in the middle where I should be. I am just going to get up and move there. I don't care what the hostess says, rules don't apply to me.

Ashley, age 25

Personality disorders represent perhaps the most challenging disorders that the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner will have to address in their professional careers. Personality disorders can co-occur in every mental health disorder and, in some cases, can mask as disorder . Although difficult to treat, the PMHNP must be able to identify personality disorders and endeavor to work with the client to not only recognize the disorder, but to treat a disorder that clients often do not believe they have.

You will explore the many personality disorders and use the DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing individuals with specific personality disorders. You will use the Decision Tree format to diagnose and treat a client with a personality disorder.

Discussion: Treatment of Personality Disorders

Personality disorders occur in 10-20% of the population. They are difficult to treat as individuals with personality disorders are less likely to seek help than individuals with other mental health disorders. Treatment can be challenging as they do not see their symptoms as painful to themselves or others.

In this Discussion, you will explore personality disorders in greater detail and discuss treatment options using evidence-based research.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze diagnostic criteria for personality disorders
• Analyze evidence-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatments for personality disorders
• Analyze clinical features of clients with personality disorders
• Align clinical features with DSM-5 criteria
• Compare differential diagnostic features of personality disorders

Task

• Explain the diagnostic criteria for your assigned personality disorder (PLEASE CHOOSE ANY PERSONALITY DISORDER OF YOUR CHOICE IN MENTAL HEALTH )

• Explain the evidenced-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatment for your assigned personality disorder.

• Describe clinical features from a client that led you to believe this client had this disorder. Align the clinical features with the DSM-5 criteria.

• Support your rationale with references to the Learning Resources or other academic resources.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

• Chapter 4, "Theories of Personality and Psychopathology" (pp. 151-191)
• Chapter 22, "Personality Disorders" (pp. 742-762)
• Chapter 13, "Psychosomatic Medicine" (pp. 451-464)

Gabbard, G. O. (2014). Gabbard's treatment of psychiatric disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publications.

• Chapter 68, "Paranoid, Schizotypal, and Schizoid Personality Disorders"
• Chapter 69, "Antisocial Personality Disorder"
• Chapter 70, "Borderline Personality Disorder"
• Chapter 71, "Histrionic Personality Disorder"
• Chapter 72, "Narcissistic Personality Disorder"
• Chapter 73, "Cluster C Personality Disorders

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

• "Personality Disorders"

Perry, J. C., Presniak, M. D., & Olson, T. R. (2013). Defense mechanisms in schizotypal, borderline, antisocial, and narcissistic personality disorders. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 76(1), 32-52. doi:10.1521/psyc.2013.76.1.32

Rees, C. S., & Pritchard, R. (2015). Brief cognitive therapy for avoidant personality disorder. Psychotherapy, 52(1), 45-55. doi:10.1037/a0035158

Required Media

Laureate Education. (2017a). A woman with personality disorder. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Kernberg, O. (n.d.). Psychoanalytic psychotherapy for personality disorders: An Interview with Otto Kernberg, MD. [Video file].