Personality Disorder Treatment

People experience personality disorder in many ways; affecting their social life, family life and work life. It is a chronic form of psychological disorder and has serious impact on a person's life. This condition can be mild to severe, depending upon the extent and spread of its symptoms. At an initial stage of the disorder, it may be mild and allow the person to lead a normal life; in short the disorder may be treated as a personality trait. However, in due time, this trait gains strength and takes a nasty shape when combined with stress or external pressures at home or at work, etc. Thereafter, the disorder starts interfering with the person's emotional and psychological functioning to such an extent that the person no more leads a normal life. Disturbances in self-image, failures in interpersonal relationships, less control on emotions and sudden changes in perception about themselves, others and the world around, become the distinct features of the person suffering from a personality disorder.

How is Personality Disorder Treated

Most cases tend to last much of a person's adult life and so the treatment is generally a long term one. Treatment for personality disorder has several classifications and mostly all the treatments are carried with the aid of the person's family doctor, family members, psychiatrist, psychotherapist and pharmacist. The various treatment options i.e. psychotherapy, medications and hospitalization have been described below.

Psychotherapy
In psychotherapy, a trained psychotherapist aids the patient in problems of living by talking about his moods, feelings, thoughts and behavior. The patient is also provided with the knowledge and insights so that he can use them to manage the symptoms of his personality disorder. The field of psychotherapy that specializes in the treatment of this disorder is divided into many sub categories such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoeducation.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as the name implies, is a joint effort of both cognitive and behavior therapies. It is basically a psychotherapeutic approach that helps a person identify unhealthy and negative beliefs and perceptions. It strives to influence dysfunctional emotions, behavior and cognitions. CBT is a goal-oriented and systematic procedure where in, the person's thinking that has a negative impact in his life, is replaced with healthy and rational ones, with positive aspects.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Here, the areas that are kept in focus are emotion regulation, reality-testing, stress management and improving relationships with others. These areas are worked upon by the therapists with validation, mindfulness and acceptance of the patience. By far, DBT has been an effective treatment option for personality disorder and other psychological issues.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
This type of treatment involves theories and techniques of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders. It is based on the theories of Sigmund Freud. Psychodynamic psychotherapy helps the affected person to get rid of his emotional pain through verbal communication. Here, the person is made aware of his unconscious motives, thoughts and behaviors. This is to develop new insights of motivations and to resolve conflicts to lead a happier life.

Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation is not only meant for the patient but for his family and friends also. It is a knowledge-based teaching about the person's illness and problem solving skills. So for effective results of this education, all other people who are a part of the patient's life are also educated on the same topics. Through this education, the patient becomes more aware about his mental illness and its aftermaths. This results in increasing the person's ability to cope with episodes of mental illness.

Medications
The FDA (food and drug administration) approves no specific medications for the treatment of personality disorder. However, medicines such as antidepressants, mood-stabilizing drugs, antianxiety drugs and antipsychotic drugs may be helpful in reducing the symptoms. Such medicines should only be administered on strict recommendation by a medical personnel, otherwise self-medication may cause serious side effects and may further worsen the condition.

Hospitalization
Some cases become so severe that they might end up in life-threatening situations for both the affected person and his near ones. In such cases, the patient might need psychiatric hospitalization care. This is required as the patient is not able to take proper care of himself and the condition is going from bad to worse.

Personality disorder is one of the most severe medical conditions that a person may suffer from. Apart from doctors and others, sufficient co-operation and active participation is also required from the patient. Its treatment is governed by several factors such as the type of disorder, financial status, side effects post-treatment and many others. In many cases, it has been seen that treatment methods, when combined with constant and sincere efforts from family and friends, ensure a safe and speedy recovery for the patient.