Personality Disorders: A Case Study

1. Definition: o Personality disorder is a psychiatric condition, characterized by the inability to be alone; dependent on others to meet their emotional and physical needs; experience anxiety when they are not around other people, extreme dependency in a close relationship with an urgent search to find a replacement when one relationship ends.

2. Possible Causes/Risk Factors: o The cause is unknown o Risk Factors:
 More women than men
 Biological factors
 Environmental factors
 History of neglect
 Abusive upbringing
 Long-term abusive relationship
 Overprotective/authoritarian parents
 Family history of anxiety disorder

3. S/S: o Physical:
 Nervousness
 Anxiety
 Panic attacks

o Behavioral:
 Difficult making decisions without …show more content…
Treatment: o Psychotherapy (usually the first action in treatment):
 Help client to understand his/her condition
 Teaches new ways to build healthy relationship with others and improve self esteem
 Short-term
 Long-term puts client at risk for growing dependent on therapist

o Cognitive-behavioral therapy:
 Focuses on patterns of thinking that are maladaptive, the beliefs that underlie such thinking and resolving symptoms or traits that are characteristic of the disorder, such as the inability to make important life decisions or the inability to initiate relationships.

o Medications:
 Help to relieve anxiety symptoms and depression, but usually used as a last resort.
 Some are habit-forming, so regular visits to physician is needed
 Antidepressants:
 Prozac, Lexapro, Zoloft, Celexa
 Benzodiazepine:
 Valium, Ativan (formulation used to treat rapid onset anxiety)

5. Goal of Treatment: o Enable client to be more independent, be able to rely on oneself to make important decisions, increase confidence level to do things alone, overcome fear of being alone or abandoned.

6. Nursing …show more content…
o For proper diagnosis have a psychological evaluation performed to see how long and how severe disorder and symptoms are o Self-assessment to be aware of certain personal reactions to stress o Provide a safe environment for clients who are at risk for self-injury or violence o Develop a therapeutic relationship with client to gain trust in order to have a successful outcome with treatment o Offer realistic choices to enhance sense of control for client o Make sure to maintain professional boundaries and communication at all times, this ensures clients professional relationship and does not allow for mixed