NRNP 6645 Week 10 Assignment – Therapy For Clients With Personality Disorders

Therapy for Clients with Personality Disorders

According to Moeller et al. (2024), personality disorders are long-lasting patterns of behavior and inner experience that are different from what society expects and make it hard to do things. This paper discusses Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) as the selected personality disorder, focusing on its diagnosis, treatment, and how to keep a therapeutic relationship healthy. As part of the discussion, different ways of communicating with individuals, families, and groups will be compared.

Description of Paranoid Personality Disorder

Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) is characterized by pervasive distrust and suspicion of others, leading individuals to interpret others’ motives as malevolent. The DSM-5-TR states that diagnostic criteria include worrying about loyalty without basis, avoiding telling people about one’s problems, seeing harmless comments as threats, and holding on to grudges (Jacobs, 2024). People with PPD often appear guarded, argumentative, and emotionally detached, complicating therapeutic engagement and interpersonal relationships.

Therapeutic Approach and Modality

Using an individual method in schema therapy is a good way to treat PPD. This model includes cognitive-behavioral, experiential, and interpersonal techniques to change harmful beliefs formed by early trauma and distrust. Individual therapy helps build trust and mental safety over time, which is very important for this person who is very sensitive to what they think are risks. Moeller et al. (2024) discovered that schema therapy assists individuals with PPD who are unresponsive to other therapies in regulating their emotions and enhancing interpersonal relationships.

Therapeutic Relationship and Diagnosis Disclosure

In psychology, a therapeutic relationship is a partnership based on trust that helps patients feel safe, understand each other, and talk freely. When telling a client they have PPD, it is necessary to be honest and sensitive to avoid making their mistrust worse. When I work with people with PPD in individual therapy, I would emphasize shared knowledge and let them know their stories are real. During family meetings, the focus would shift to psychoeducation and building helpful relationships. To lower defensiveness and anxiety in group treatment, I would stress privacy and respect (Paoli, 202).

Conclusion

Some people with PPD find it hard to trust others, which can make it hard to treat them. Being steady, calm, and accepting can help make a conducive environment where such individuals can heal. Individual schema therapy has been proven to help PPD patient feel safe again by allowing them to talk about their feelings without fear of judgment. Building trust in this relationship helps patients grow and feel better over time.

References

Jacobs, K. A. (2024). Changes of intuition in paranoid personality disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1307629

Moeller, S. B., Arendt, I. T., Meline, J. S. J., & Øibakken, R. (2024). Case report: Schema therapy for a case of treatment-resistant schizotypal and paranoid personality disorder with a trauma history. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 8(3), 100414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtd.2024.100414

Paoli, B. (2024). Therapeutic aphorisms for paranoid personality disorder and paranoid ideation treatment: psychological opposites and complementaries in brief therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1278721

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To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide about treating clients with personality disorders.
• Select one of the personality disorders from the DSM-5-TR (e.g., paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic). Then, select a therapy modality (individual, family, or group) that you might use to treat a client with the disorder you selected.

The Assignment:

Succinctly, in 1–2 pages, address the following:

• Briefly describe the personality disorder you selected, including the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria.
• Explain a therapeutic approach and a modality you might use to treat a client presenting with this disorder. Explain why you selected the approach and modality, justifying their appropriateness.
• Next, briefly explain what a therapeutic relationship is in psychiatry. Explain how you would share your diagnosis of this disorder with the client in order to avoid damaging the therapeutic relationship. Compare the differences in how you would share your diagnosis with an individual, a family, and in a group session.

Support your response with specific examples from this week’s Learning Resources and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.