Personality disorders

Abstract

People have characteristic ways of perceiving, thinking about, and responding to the world around them that are relatively stable over time and across situations; this is referred to as their personality. A diagnosis of personality disorder is made when the personality is extreme and maladaptive and causes difficulty or distress to the person themselves or to others. People with personality disorders are often encountered in medical settings, which may be because they have self-harmed, suffered problems from drug or alcohol use, or been injured because of unwise behaviour. Personality disorders also complicate the medical management of medical conditions, for example, by non-adherence to recommended treatment. The effective short-term management of personality disorders in medical settings requires: (a) recognition of the diagnosis; (b) creation of a management plan; and (c) consistent response to the problematic behaviours adhered to by all relevant staff.