management of personality disorder

Last reviewed 01/2018

management of personality disorder

There is little evidence on the effective treatment of the condition (across the range of personality disorders)

• borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder (to a lesser extent) are two exceptions for which there are now a growing evidence base for management
• unusually a person with borderline personality disorder is likely to seek treatment compared to those with antisocial personality disorder and other categories

Treatment options of personality disorder should focus on the following factors:

• hope and optimism
• building a trusting relationship with an open non-judgmental manner
• working in partnership  to involve the patient when making decisions about their treatment
• help people to develop autonomy
• encourage those in treatment to be actively involved in finding solutions to their problems.

Primary care physicians may use concrete problem solving tools during a consultation to avoid being drawn into the patient’s pathologic personality traits, which often results in conflict.

• tools which can be used include:
• a modified version of motivational interviewing
• the problem-solving technique (2)

Reference:

• (1) Gask L, Evans M, Kessler D. Clinical Review. Personality disorder. BMJ. 2013;347:f5276.
• (2) Angstman KB, Rasmussen NH. Personality disorders: review and clinical application in daily practice. Am Fam Physician. 2011;84(11):1253-60.