Psychotherapy With Personality Disorders
Psychotherapy With Personality Disorders
Since personality represents who someone is at the deepest level, it is understandable that
many people with personality disorders resist the idea that they have a fundamental
dysfunction with their personality. Even when clients acknowledge that their personality
problems are at the heart of their interpersonal problems, they often find it difficult to
change. As the mental health professional, how do you overcome this challenge and
effectively counsel these clients?
This week, as you explore psychotherapy with personality disorders, you examine
therapeutic approaches to treating clients with personality and interpersonal problems.
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Learning Resources
Required Readings
American Nurses Association. (2014). Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and
standards of practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Standard 5H “Psychotherapy” (pages 63-64)
Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2014). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-
to guide for evidence-based practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing
Company.
Chapter 20, “Termination and Outcome Evaluation” (Review pp. 693–712)
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Turner, B. J., & Chapman, A. L. (2011). Psychotherapy for
personality disorders. International Review Of Psychiatry, 23(3), 282-302.
doi:10.3109/09540261.2011.586992
Lorentzen, S., Ruud, T., Fjeldstad, A., & Høglend, P. A. (2015). Personality disorder
moderates outcome in short- and long-term group analytic psychotherapy: A randomized
clinical trial. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54(2), 129-146. doi:10.1111/bjc.12065
Paris, J. (2004). Personality disorders over time: implications for psychotherapy. American
Journal Of Psychotherapy, 58(4), 420-429.
Swift, J. K., & Greenberg, R. P. (2015). What is premature termination, and why does it
occur? In Premature termination in psychotherapy: Strategies for engaging clients and
improving outcomes (pp. 11–31). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
doi:10.1037/14469-002
Optional Resources
Dorr, D. (1999). Approaching psychotherapy of the personality disorders from the Millon
perspective. Journal of Personality Assessment, 72(3), 407–425. PMID: 10491846
Bach, B., Lee, C., Mortensen, E. L., & Simonsen, E. (2016). How do DSM-5 personality
traits align with schema therapy constructs? Journal of Personality Disorders, 30(4),
502–529. doi:10.1521/pedi_2015_29_212