Personality disorders are defined as maladaptive patterns of behavior that begin in adolescence and continue into adulthood, causing emotional and relationship problems. There are three clusters of personality disorders: Cluster A includes paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal disorders; Cluster B includes borderline, histrionic, and antisocial disorders; and Cluster C includes avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Personality disorders are treatable through therapies like dialectical behavior therapy, mentalization-based treatment, psychodynamic therapy, and schema therapy which help patients understand maladaptive beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy coping strategies.

1. Are Personality Disorder
Treatable ?
By: Jordanae Lindsay
Course: Psychology of Personality
Date: March, 20, 2018
Lecturer: Major Derrick DePass

2. The AIM:
➢ Briefly explain the meaning of personality disorder
➢ Cluster B personality disorder
➢ Brief definition of these personality disorder
➢ Are personality disorder treatable? And what are
some of the most effective reliable treatments to
use?

3. Defining Personality Disorder
Personality Disorder is a deeply ingrained, maladaptive
pattern of behavior that typically begins in adolescence
and continues throughout adulthood creating emotional
pain and interpersonal difficulties is defined as personality
disorder’ according to the Personality Disorder Awareness
Network (Pdan) 2015.

4. Types of Personality Disorders
➢ Cluster A; Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality
Disorders.
➢ Cluster B ; Borderline, Histrionic, and Antisocial Personality
Disorder.
➢ Cluster C; Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive
Personality Disorders.

5. Borderline Personality Disorder
According to the National Institution of Mental Health
(NIH) ‘Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness
marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-
image, and behavior. These symptoms often result in
impulsive actions and problems in relationships.(NIH,
2018).

6. Histrionic Personal
Personality disorder, ‘Histrionic personality disorder (HPD)
is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention
seeking behavior and extreme emotionality. (S.
Bressert,2018).

7. Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder (sociopathy), is a mental
condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for
right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.
People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize,
manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference.
They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.

8. Treatments
‘Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): A cognitive-behavioral treatment that is
geared toward increasing the patient’s ability to moderate between what his
intense emotions and his actions.
Mentalization-Based Treatment: Goal is to teach the patient how to “mentalize,”
or picture/imagine what others are feeling in response to her behavior, and in
general.

9. Treatments
Psychodynamic Therapy: Its focus is upon helping the patient uncover how her
childhood is affecting her current life. The relationship with the therapist is used
to help the patient understand how her emotions, feelings.
Schema Therapy: The goal of the treatment is to challenge the maladaptive
“schemas,” or beliefs/feelings, that the patient learned in childhood. Schema
Therapy can take longer, but takes place at a deeper level for the patient.

10. References
Personality Disorder Awareness Network.(2015). Are Personality Disorders Treatable? Retrieved from:
http://www.pdan.org/what-are-personality-disorders/can-pd-be-cured/
N. Burton. Psychology Today. (2017). The 10 Personality Disorders.Retreived from:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/the-10-personality-disorders
S. Bressert. (2017). Histrionic Personality Disorder. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 14, 2018, from:
https://psychcentral.com/disorders/histrionic-personality-disorder/
Web.MD. (2018). Mental Health and Histrionic personality Disorder. Retreived from:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder#1
National Institute of Mental Health (2013). Eating Disorders. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders/index.shtml