Discussion: Therapy for Clients With Personality Disorders

Select one of the personality disorders from the DSM-5.
Post a description of the personality disorder you selected. Explain a therapeutic approach (including psychotropic medications if appropriate) you might use to treat a client presenting with this disorder, including how you would share your diagnosis of this disorder to the client in order to avoid damaging the therapeutic relationship. Support your approach with evidence-based literature.

ANSWER

Therapy for Clients with Personality Disorders

A personality disorder is a mental problem where an individual has a rigid behaviour and thinking pattern. A person with the disorder finds it difficult relating to people and situations a well as having unhealthy functioning (Timmermann et al., 2017).  Personality disorders, therefore, result in difficulties in social activities, work, and relationships.  The selected personality disorders from the DSM-5 is Antisocial Personality Disorder. Some of the signs and symptoms of the disorder include engaging in dangerous behaviors, getting involved in activities that are unpleasant to others, getting bored quickly, acting on impulse, reduced sense of guilt, and treating others harshly with …

Antisocial personality disorder treatment depends on its severity and other factors such as age. The treatment may include psychotherapy and medications. The family and friends of the patient play a significant role in the treatment process. Talk therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy are commonly used when dealing with the condition by helping the patient to manage their health by changing the way of behavior and thinking. In addition, antidepressant and antipsychotic medications can also help in the treatment of Antisocial Personality Disorder (Derefinko & Widiger, 2016).  Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors is a class of antidepressants that improve anger management. Lithium and Carbamazepine can also be applied to control impulsive behavior and aggression. In most cases, individuals may not realize that they have a personality disorder because their way of behaving and thinking seems normal to them.  They are, therefore, likely to blame others for the challenges they face since they do not understand the source of the problem. The therapist should consequently create a well relaxing environment before informing the patient of the disorder existence to avoid adverse reactions and responses (Storebø & Simonsen, 2016). The patient should then be notified in bits, starting…