Personality Disorder Traits and Self‐Reported Target Problems in a Treatment‐Seeking Sample

Abstract

The problem that a client with personality disorder (PD) views as most important may only be weakly identified in a formal diagnostic assessment. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, PD traits are insufficient to describe fully the things clients most want to change about themselves. Many clients with PD consider difficulty trusting others to be their most important problem, despite not qualifying for that particular paranoid trait. Risk of disagreement between the clinician and the client might be reduced if both parties can engage in a discussion about the results of any formal diagnostic assessment.

Development and validation of a treatment progress scale for personality disordered offenders

“…Further validation using risk scores will also be essential, as insufficient data did not permit their inclusion in present analyses, thereby limiting conclusions. As the PRS was developed based on clinical records, it also will be important to examine the extent to which the PRS represents patient perspectives, as these do not always reflect those of clinicians (Huband, Evans, Duggan, & Khan, ; Milton et al, ; Perry, ; Zimmerman, ). Finally, extending the investigation to outcomes other than the DSQ and SPSI‐R and demonstrating predictive validity in relation to key outcomes such as long‐term psychosocial functioning and reoffending will be germane to establishing the utility of the PRS.…”