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Personality Disorders

> Health Centers > Recent Trends in the Treatment of Personality Disorders Because the literature on personality disorders largely grew out of psychoanalytic contributions, the treatments recommended for these conditions have traditionally been psychoanalysis and extended psychodynamic psychotherapy. These treatments are still useful and effective for many of the personality disorders. However, these updated chapters reflect the fact that behavior therapies and cognitive therapies also have been used for personality disorders in recent years and that a growing literature supports their use. Pharmacotherapy has been used with increasing sophistication as an adjunct to psychotherapy, particularly in borderline personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and avoidant personality disorder. With the knowledge that personality reflects a genetically based biological temperament as well as a constellation of internalized object relations, defenses, and self-constructs based on experiences with the environment, a rationale can be made for a more sophisticated combination of treatments. Certain aspects of personality disorder can be targeted by specific psychopharmacological agents, whereas other dimensions are the focus of psychotherapy. For many years, only long-term treatments were recommended for personality disorders, but we now know that at least with some conditions, such as avoidant personality disorder, brief behavior therapies may be useful in altering certain symptoms.

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