Histrionic personality disorder is characterized by excessive emotionality, attention seeking, and an overwhelming desire for approval. It is estimated to affect 2-3% of the population and is more common in women. Symptoms include inappropriate sexually seductive behavior, shifting emotions, attention seeking, and exaggeration of emotions. Treatments include psychodynamic, cognitive, and group therapies which aim to help patients understand their feelings and dysfunctional thoughts. Treatment can take years and while personality traits are long-lasting, symptoms may decrease with age.

2. Histrionic Personality Disorder
(HPD):
• The essential feature of this disorder is
described by the DSM-IV-TR as a “pervasive
pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-
seeking behavior,” (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, pg. 711).
Symptoms include exaggerated expressions of
emotions, incessant drawing of attention to
oneself, overreaction to minor events,
constantly seeking approval from others,
egocentricity, vain and demanding behavior,
extreme concern with physical appearance, and
inappropriately sexually seductive appearance
or behavior.

4. Statistical Facts:
• HPD is estimated in approximately 2-3% of
the American adult population
• HPD is more common in women, although
doctors believe men do not report the
disorder as much as women.
• Symptoms usually surface in late teen or
early adulthood
• As one of the components of the three
clusters of personality disorders, HPD is often
coincident with other personality disorders or
mental disorders.

5. Throughout time and history
as Personality disorders have
progressed and become more
apparent, so have the
acknowledgement of
celebrities, thought to be
diagnosed with HPD. This
includes such people as:

6. •Anna Nicole Smith •Micheal Jackson
•Marilyn Monroe •Joan Crawford
•Julie Roberts •Kathie Lee Gifford
•Courtney Love •Sharon Stone
•Drew Barrymore •Naomi Campbell
•Richard Simmons •Christina Aguilera
•Robin Williams •Lindsay Lohan
•Angelina Jolie •Star Jones
•Mariah Carey •Pamela Anderson
•Princess Diana •Carmen Electra
•Nicole Ritchie •Miley Cyrus
•Paris Hilton
•Madonna

8. There were even fictional
characters created, based
upon such diagnoses:
• Scarlett O’Hara
• Jessica Rabbit
• Austin Powers
• Don Juan

10. Causes of HPD:
• Lack of research on the causes of HPD
• Causes that are thought to be part of HPD
include: biological, developmental,
cognitive, and social factors
• Most psychoanalysts agree that a
traumatic childhood contributes towards
the development of HPD

11. Symptoms of HPD:
DSM-IV-TR lists eight symptoms that form the
diagnostic criteria for HPD:
• Center of attention: Patients with HPD
experience discomfort when they are not the
center of attention.
• Sexually seductive: Patients with HPD
displays inappropriate sexually seductive or
provocative behavior towards others.
• Shifting emotions: The expression of
emotions of patients with HPD tends to be
shallow and to shift rapidly.
• Physical appearance: Individuals with HPD
consistently employ physical appearance to
gain attention for themselves.

12. Symptoms of HPD continued…
• Speech style: The speech style of patients with
HPD lacks detail. Individuals with HPD tend to
generalize, and when these individuals speak,
they aim to please and impress.
• Dramatic behaviors: Patients with HPD display
self-dramatization and exaggerate their
emotions.
• Suggestibility: Other individuals or
circumstances can easily influence patients with
HPD.
• Overestimation of intimacy: Patients with
HPD overestimate the level of intimacy in a

13. Treatments of HPD:
• Psychodynamic therapy: treatment of choice
with most professionals, as it helps the patients
become aware of their own feelings. May require
several years of therapy and it may affect the
patient throughout their life.
• Cognitive therapy: will help patients with
reducing the dysfunctional thoughts of patients
with HPD.
• Group therapy: this type of therapy will allow the
patient to work on interpersonal relationships.
• Family therapy: can help other members of the
family to avoid supporting histrionic behavior but
knowing how to support the patient in a positive

14. Prognosis:
• Personality characteristics of individuals with
HPD are long-lasting.
• Will often seek hospital services but will not
stick with the programs in order to make
changes.
• Treatment can take a minimum of 1 to 3
years and often it will take longer.
• As HPD individuals age, they will typically
show less symptoms.

15. Believe that life is worth living and your belief
will help create the fact – William James