Personality Disorders: How Psychiatrists Help People Manage Them

Personality disorders are a set of conditions that involve patterns of behaviors and feelings that are completely different from normal behavior. These patterns cause extreme discomfort to people in maintaining their relationships. People who struggle with personality disorders take the help of psychiatrists as they are unable to perceive things and do the work that normal people do. This leads to numerous difficulties in their lives as they feel an inability to move in society or do any kind of work. This condition is serious as these people are unable to adapt to new situations. Thus, it is advisable to see the top psychiatrists if someone in your family is struggling with any personality disorder.

Psychiatrists help these people by offering them much-needed counseling. They first understand the needs of the patient and then treat him according to his medical condition. Before we know how psychiatrists treat personality disorders, it is important to know the types of personality disorders people struggle with.

Types of Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are of different types. Each type of personality disorder is different from the other. These disorders are divided into 3 clusters: –

Cluster A

People with these personality disorders have no social life. They struggle a lot in forming healthy relationships with anyone. These people show unusual and eccentric behavior and have a problem in moving in society. Cluster A is classified into 3 types of personality disorders, which are as follows: –

• Schizotypal Personality Disorder: – People who are struggling with this personality disorder show strange behaviors and are averse to social interactions. People who are undergoing this condition often believe that they possess some special powers.
• Paranoid Personality Disorder: – People who are struggling with this condition don’t trust anyone. They believe that people are plotting against them. However, they have no basis to confirm this.
• Schizoid Personality Disorder: – People who suffer from this condition often face problems in maintaining healthy relationships with other people, including their family members. They are not socially active and prefer to stay alone.

Cluster B

People who have cluster B personality disorders show emotional, dramatic, and erratic behaviors. These disorders are as follows: –

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: – People who are struggling with this mental health condition need admiration from others. They believe that they are far superior to others. They face several challenges in their relationships, work, and other aspects of life.
• Borderline Personality Disorder: – This disorder is characterized by a pattern of unstable relationships, behaviors, and moods. People who suffer from these disorders experience difficulty in making long-term relationships. They also experience emotional swings.
• Histrionic Personality Disorder: – People who suffer from this disorder feel uncomfortable when they are not the center of attention. They try hard to draw attention from the people and often face difficulties in maintaining their relationships. They also feel uncomfortable at their workplace.
• Antisocial Personality Disorder: – This is a mental health condition in which a person harms others and lacks empathy. The strange thing about these people is that they do not repent for their actions.

Cluster C

People with this medical condition are characterized by patterns of fearful behavior. Disorders that fall under Cluster C are as follows: –

• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: – People who are struggling with these personality disorders have recurring unwanted thoughts and behaviors.
• Dependent Personality Disorder: – People who have dependent personality disorders feel a need to be taken care of, and they have a fear of abandonment. They often look for advice and face difficulties in making decisions.
• Avoidant Personality Disorder: – This personality disorder is characterized by social inhibition and sensitivity to rejection and criticism.

Role of Psychiatrists in Treating People with Personality Disorders

Psychiatrists possess a specialization in treating people who are struggling with any personality disorder. They provide counseling to the patients and prescribe the right medical treatment for their condition. They make the best use of different approaches to manage the conditions of the people. Here is how they treat their personality disorders: –

Right Diagnosis

The top psychiatrists first diagnose the mental health condition of a person. They are well aware of the techniques through which they diagnose a personality disorder in a person. They conduct detailed assessments, questionnaires, and interviews to judge the mental health condition of the people. If they get confused during the diagnosis process, they get help from other psychiatrists and healthcare providers.

The psychiatrists collect information regarding the behavior as well as the patterns of the people to understand the type of personality disorder they are suffering from. They can easily understand the difference between normal behavior and the patterns of strange behavior. These psychiatrists also identify other medical conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

This therapy is immensely popular among psychiatrists as they are used to treat a variety of mental health conditions. This goal-oriented therapy emphasizes the relationship between feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. It is extremely helpful for the patients as it encourages positive behaviors in them. In this therapy, the patients schedule enjoyable activities and learn to face fearful situations in a controlled way. It also lets the patients develop the skills to solve a problem. They first break down the problems and solve them with the help of manageable and constructive steps. With the help of this therapy, the psychiatrists focus on changing the thinking patterns of the patients. This therapy is helpful for people who have “Narcissistic Personality Disorder” and “Borderline Personality Disorder”. It lets them manage their feelings through coping mechanisms.

Medication Management

The top psychiatrists not only treat a personality disorder with medication but also prescribe medicines to manage other symptoms that are related to these disorders. For instance, a Borderline Personality Disorder may experience anxiety, intense mood swings, and irritability. Thus, the psychiatrist prescribes medications such as mood stabilizers, antipsychotic drugs, and antidepressants to provide relief to the patients. For example, people who have obsessive-compulsive personality disorders are given Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, which help them reduce compulsive behaviors and obsessive thinking.

Psychotherapy and Counselling

Psychiatrists also help the patients through psychotherapy and counselling sessions. They use these sessions apart from offering medications to the patients. Depending on the needs of the patients, the psychiatrists choose the best therapeutic modalities for them. In a psychotherapy session, the psychiatrist helps the patients explore their behaviour and thoughts to improve their mental health.  

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

Psychiatrists also use Dialectical Behaviour Therapy to help people improve their relationships and intense emotions. People who are struggling with borderline personality disorder will greatly benefit from this therapy. Through this therapy, the patient learns to focus on the present moment. They also learn how to manage and change different emotions. The patients also learn how to tolerate any type of stress without showing harmful behaviors. The psychiatrists offer this therapy to the patients individually or in a group. This benefits them in minimizing a patient’s suicidal behaviors.

Transference-Focused Therapy

Psychiatrists use Transference-Focused Therapy to treat patients with borderline personality disorders. This therapy explores how past relationships affect the behavior of a patient. Psychiatrists use this therapy to bring change in the patterns of behavior of the patient.

Mentalization-Based Therapy

This is an evidence-based treatment that is used by psychiatrists to treat borderline personality disorders. It helps the patients know their own mental states. This is immensely helpful for people who struggle with borderline personality disorders. In this disorder, people face identity problems as well as the problem of unstable relationships.

Schema Therapy

This therapy is immensely useful in treating chronic mental health issues. The psychiatrists help the individuals to identify coping mechanisms that aim to develop the patterns of feeling, behaviour and thoughts. It is effective for treating “Avoidant Personality Disorder” and “Antisocial Personality Disorder”. The therapy helps the patients to identify the patterns of thought.

Collaborative Care

The psychiatrists also collaborate with other healthcare professionals such as nurses, family members, social workers, and psychologists to treat the patients. All of these professionals ensure that the patients get the best treatment as per their personality disorders. These healthcare professionals also offer family therapy in which the family members get to know how to manage their behavior with the people who are struggling with any personality disorder.

Conclusion: Personality Disorders Treatments

Psychiatrists have a crucial role in treating numerous personality disorders. They identify the type of personality disorder and help the patients learn the best coping strategies to manage their stress. They ensure that the patients get the best treatment and proper care that helps them cope with the stress resulting from any personality disorders. Nowadays, you can contact reputed psychiatrists in any metropolitan city or small town. If you want to get the services of the best psychiatrists in Delhi, you can consider Dr. Shashi Bhushan Kumar who who has been diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental health disorders for the last 25 years.