...however, the DSM-IV is not as precise for diagnosing personality disorders as some psychologists would like. Give an example of each of the following problems identified in your readings and explain how these problems could negatively affect a diagnosis. 1. Some criteria used for reaching a diagnosis cannot be observed directly. Most of today’s clinicians believe that personality disorders are important and troubling patterns, yet these disorders are particularly hard to diagnose and easy to misdiagnose. These difficulties indicate serious problems with the validity (accuracy) and reliability (consistency) of the DSM categories (Jablensky, 2002). One problem is that some of the criteria used to diagnose personality disorders cannot be observed directly. To separate paranoid from schizoid personality disorder, for example, clinicians must ask not only whether people avoid forming close relationships but also why. In other words, the diagnoses often rely heavily on the impressions of the individual clinician. A related problem is that clinicians differ widely in their judgments about when a normal personality style crosses the line and deserves to be called a disorder (Clark, 2002). Some even believe that it is wrong ever to think of personality styles as mental disorders, however troublesome they may be (Kendell, 2002). 2. Personality disorders can be similar to each other. The similarity of personality disorders within a cluster, or even between clusters, poses...
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...Eating, Substance Abuse, Sex, and Personality Disorders Psychology 410 07/21/2012 Professor Christa Banton University of Phoenix Disorders There exist various types of psychological disorders that impact the lives of individuals in society; these entail substance abuse and eating disorders. Individuals might undergo with gender and sexual disorders along with impulse control and personality disorders: the disorder sees the person become isolated and hold back from members of society. The realm of psychology has established these disorders and engendered treatments. Eating disorders entail a substantive trouble with food. A number of individuals dangerously overdo it with food whereas others decline to eat. The disorder instigates a fracas in the individual’s eating patterns and may perturb the individual’s usual life routine. Eating disorders are highly complex and in spite of scientific research to comprehend them, the behavioral, biological, and social foundations of these illnesses stay unknown (2009). The disorders implicated are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, and Obesity. The subject with anorexia nervosa declines to eat, having a blurred view of their bodies, believing they are fat. Bulimia is a multifaceted disorder that entails the individual consuming large amounts of food and then regurgitating the contents of their stomach. The subjected plagued by the disorder dreads gaining weight and will undergo extreme...
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...following personality disorders: paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal. People with paranoid personality disorder are generally characterized by having a pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others. A person with paranoid personality disorder will nearly always believe that other people's motives are suspect or even malevolent. Individuals with this disorder assume that other people will exploit, harm, or deceive them, even if no evidence exists to support this expectation. Researchers today don't know what causes paranoid personality disorder. There are many theories, however, about the possible causes of paranoid personality disorder. Some of these theories are biological and genetic factors as well as social factors how a person interacts in their early development. If a person has this personality disorder, research suggests that there is a slightly increased risk for this disorder to be "passed down" to their children. Treatment of paranoid personality disorder typically involves long-term psychotherapy with a therapist that has experience in treating this kind of personality disorder. Medications may also be prescribed to help with specific troubling and debilitating symptoms. Schizoid Personality Disorder is characterized by a pattern of detachment from social relationships. A person with schizoid personality disorder often has difficulty expression emotions and does so typically in very restricted range. A person with this disorder may appear...
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...confidence about my self. Something like an aura, when I would walk into a room. With that sense of pride there also came a sense of entitlement. I felt as though I was very special and that I should be praised for the things I did growing up because I was so original and so unique. I remember in pre-school I got an award at our graduation for being the bossiest person in the classroom. Some people would have been offended by that, however, I was so proud that I got that award. Even today, when someone says I’m bossy I should be offended but often times I’m not because I have accepted the fact that it is who I am regardless if I like it or not. So after that introduction it should be no surprise that Narcissistic Personality Disorder was the highest rank personality disorder that I ranked for. Understanding that I narcissism is something that could easily be seen in me it is almost a most that I keep myself in check, meaning I maintain my humility while in therapy. Not to think too highly of myself and ensure that I will continue to have empathy and sympathy towards to clients that I will see in therapy. However there are some pros and cons to having a tad bit NPD. I could easily become a role model because I think high of myself. I also could make people feel comfortable about themselves because I am so comfortable with who I am. The con side of that is that people could feel intimidated about my aura. It could be that I am too comfortable with that and myself could cause people...
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...RUNNING HEAD: Personality Disorders: Making a Diagnosis Personality Disorders: Making a Diagnosis Anya Dobbs Walden University September 27, 2015 Given the stigma and often-times lifelong courses of mental disorders, I would like to have more time and information from this patient in order to make a definitive diagnosis, but based on the information I have, I would likely diagnose him with Schizoid Personality Disorder, 302.01. “Schizoid personality disorder is a pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression” (APA, 2013, p. 645). The patient in question displays almost every symptom that is characteristic of the disorder, based on the information he has provided. Criterion A states the patient must display at least four of seven symptoms displaying “a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of context” (APA, 2013, P. 652). Based on what the patient provided, his symptoms did begin by early adulthood as he mentioned his behaviors while in college and they are present in a variety of context- school, work, personal, and familial areas of his life. Five out of seven of the criterion symptoms apply to the patient: Criterion A1 states, “Neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being a part of the family” (APA, 2013, p. 653). The patient expressed how he came to see the therapist...
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...1: MENTAL DISORDERS AND CRIME 1.0 INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL DISORDER A mental disorder is depicted as a significant behavioral or psychological pattern, which leads to distress or impairment in important areas of functioning or a higher risk of suffering from pain, disability, loss of freedom and death (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Mental disorder affects a person’s mood, thinking and also behavior. The general types of mental disorders include mood disorder, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and psychotic disorders. 2.0 SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL DISORDERS These signs may include the feelings of excessive anxiety, intense fear, odd speech or thinking patterns, marked changes in behavior and mood, withdrawal from social interaction and the lost of interest in activities that are normally enjoyed. 3.0 THE LINK BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND CRIME Personally, I think that there is a positive correlation between mental disorders and crime. However, not all individuals with mental disorders are certain to commit crime. The possibility of crime being committed by these individuals may depend on external factors which trigger their biological predisposition to violate the rights of others. In the following discussion, I have included several studies which stated that mental disorders may lead to crime. 3.1 SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION & AGGRESSION Results from a study have shown that individuals with psychotic disorders were responsible...
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...University of Phoenix Case Study 1 – Schizoid Personality Disorder There are several believed causes for schizoid personality disorder. Cognitive theorists believe that individuals have a deficiency in the way they think, causing them to not relate and understand others normally, in turn making them withdrawn from others around them. Another believed cause is from the viewpoint of psychodynamic theorists. They believe people suffer from this disorder because of an unsatisfied need for human contact that they did not receive growing up (Comer, 2011). With these types of individuals being so withdrawn from the public, it can make it rather difficult to treat with therapy. There are several forms of therapy that do help assist in treatment however. Therapists try to have the individual experience more happy thoughts and better interact socially (Comer, 2011). They have individuals think about different emotions and write down memories that were happy ones. Also, they try various role paying techniques to teach individuals how to interact socially with others. Group therapy can also be beneficial in exposing individuals to social interaction (Comer, 2011). Case Study 2 - Narcissistic Personality Disorder Luis in the second case study clearly displays a narcissistic personality disorder, trying to show he is better than others regardless of his current standing in society. There are several proposed causes for this disorder. Psychodynamic theorists believe that the individuals...
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...factors in their environment while growing up. It is believed that negative environments are the embryo for psychological disorders expressed later in life. The early childhood and developmental environments of multiple clearly psychotic individuals, such as infamous serial killers, have been studied to determine the cause of such undesirable disorders. These disorders continue to hinder the lives of many people to the point that they can’t even function in society. Many events during childhood, such as abuse, isolation, or the lack of love and support, have many negative effects on the growing and developing young brain. One such area that is largely damaged due to child abuse is the subiculum part of the brain. The subiculum relays the hippocampus with the rest of the brain and is responsible for the internal rewards center, which helps the individual feel good about themselves and their actions. Damage to this area of the brain has been linked to drug abuse and schizophrenia shown later in that individual's life. Similarly, during essential brain developmental periods a decrease in hippocampus volume, from stress due to childhood abuse and maltreatment, is highly correlated to psychiatric disorders. Of the many psychological disorders that can result from traumatic childhood events, dissociative disorders are common outcomes. Dissociation disorders are characterized by a detachment of one’s self or from the outside world. This is caused by painful, traumatic events where...
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...Challenges in identifying and treating personality disorders: Change the catalyst of research! Personality disorders are psychiatric disorders characterized by chronic patterns of inner experience and behavior that are inflexible and present across a broad range of situations. They have a marked impact on patients’ interpersonal relationships, and social and occupational functioning, and can lead to problematic interactions in the medical setting (Ward, 2004). Personality disorders come in many forms of behaviors: from antisocial, narcissistic, avoidant and extreme and they are often regarded as conditions that are difficult to identify and treat effectiveness. As a result, there are many reasons for the incidence of persons with this behavior ceasing treatment programs prior to its completion. Dingfelder (2004) suggests that people with borderline personality disorders quit treatment programs about 70 percent of the time. This paper seeks to identify primary sources that provide research-based explanations of why struggles in effectiveness in the identification and treatment of personality disorders exist. It will also provide a proposal for a new research study that will help provide more information about increasing the effectiveness of treatment of such disorders. Effective Treatments from Research Personality disorders, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are categorized into three clusters based on their primary...
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...Application of Clinical Psychology PSY/480 October 24, 2011 Catie Brodehl, Psy.D Application of Clinical Psychology Clinical psychologists must deal with many mental disorders. The mental disorders can include anything from Obsessive Compulsive Behavior to Schizophrenia. To understand the application of clinical psychology in a real-world environment, the case study of Theodore Kaczynski was chosen for review. Theodore Kaczynski suffered from schizoid personality disorder. The symptoms of people suffering from schizoid personality disorder (SPD) are usually exhibited by asocial behavior, shyness, problems with expression of emotions and dysfunction in his or her ability to form social relationships. Although SPD falls into the ‘schizophrenic spectrum’ of disorders it is different because the person with SPD is in touch with reality, unlike an individual with a true schizophrenic disorder. The case study of Theodore Kaczynski is also interesting in that the prevalence of SPD in the general American population is less than 1% with individual studies showing occurrences as high as 3% in some communities (Hessess & Thylstrup, 2009). Case Study – Theodore John Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski known as Ted was born on May 22, 1942. During his childhood he did not interact with other children and stayed to himself in his neighborhood. Growing up his mother was concerned with Ted because he did not play with other children. Ted was a fairly quiet, shy, and a loner...
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...Do Violent Video Games Make A Person Violent? Violent video games have been evolving for years. The first violent video game to ever be released was Death Race made in 1976 (Suddath). This game brought a controversy that would follow all video games for years to come. Although many people say that violent video games cause a person to become violent, many people will argue that violent video games do not cause a person to be violent. Both sides of the “violent-video-game” argument, examples to both points being made, and who should not play violent video games will be analyzed or examined in order to determine the effects of gaming. First, many people believe that violent video games do not cause violence. People believe that violence in video games is the cause of violence, but most video games depict and reflect the real world (Rynne). The world is full of violence, and it was full of violence long before video games started to make their way to popularity. People will counter this point and say that violent video games bring stabbing, shooting, running people over, drugs, alcohol, theft, etc… into people’s lives, but if a person turns the television to a news station, he/she will see all of the same things. War games depict wars in other countries, Grand Theft Auto reflects how people in bad neighborhoods can act, and medieval games give people and understanding about the past. People will say that because of these games mass murders will evolve; for example, Sandy...
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...I would diagnose Martin with Schizoaffective disorder for several reasons. Martin has been exhibiting multiple symptoms that lead me to believe that he has schizoaffective disorder. First I would like to explain what’s schizoaffective disorder? What are the signs that this disorder exhibits? Schizoaffective disorder is a very serious mental illness that has symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, mania, depression, mood disorder, and delusions. Martin has been experiencing signs most of these symptoms including in my opinion possibly hearing voices and responding to these voices. Martin has refused to answer his phone because he believes it would activate the chip in his head which could be very deadly, he also accused his family...
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...Having a relative who has a brother that has schizophrenia and bipolar. The name will be used is Bob for the brother of the relative. This is also known as schizso effective which are two different disorders, as have been told. Bob was diagnosed at the age of 18 or 19 with schizophrenia. He did not serve a mission even though he was raised a member of the church. The brother and his sister in law think he would have had a lot of trouble with companions. He has been in and out of hospitals a few times. He can tell when his medicine is out and Bob will admit himself into the hospital. He has had roommates in the past and now he lives on his own. Bob does not work and the way he supports himself is through social security. Bob’s housing is subsidized; people will come into his home every month to do a clean check. He has people helping now with his finances. He will go to the Aliant House that has case managers to help. He volunteers at the Aliant House to socialize with others with the same personality he has. It is a way he can work and socialize at the same time. A place to keep Bob safe. The Aliant House is like a halfway house. Bob has always had a high IQ but he has never been able to develop some of the ideas he has had. He has had ideas such as the battery but has never been...
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...“Borderline personality disorder is a serious psychiatric condition associated with instability in affect and identity, significantly impaired interpersonal relationships, and self-injurious behaviors” (Sharp 1). Borderline personality disorder, or Borderline for short is a disorder that affects many Americans at different ages. Borderline can affect individuals as young as 6 years old (Borderline Personality Disorder 1). Borderline affects more than 3 million people per year in the U.S. that is only counting the individuals that seek help. (Borderline Personality Disorder 1). There is no cure for Borderline, however there are treatments available. The cause for Borderline is still unknown however the diagnosis is made based on symptoms shown...
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...Overview/Background: Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) is a disorder that begins in early adulthood and if found more common in men than in women. PPD falls into a group known as “Cluster A” disorder which involve an erratic and odd way of thinking. People with PPD may also suffer from paranoia, leaving them with the feeling of distrust and suspicion of others; when there is no need to be suspicious. The exact cause of PPD is unknown but has the likelihood to be have a combination of both biological and psychological factors. The fact that PPD is more common with those who have close relatives with schizophrenia, this suggests there is a genetic link between the two disorders. It is also suspected that in early childhood experiences, physical and emotional trauma may play a role in the development of PPD. Symptoms of PPD: People with PPD are always on guard, believe that others are trying to demean, harm, or threaten them. Even though these beliefs are generally unfounded, along with the habits of blame and distrust, may lead to interference with their ability to form close relationships. People with this disorder: Doubt the commitment, loyalty, or trustworthiness of others, believing that they are using or deceiving them. Are reluctant to confide in others or reveal personal information due to a fear that the information will be used against them Are unforgiving and hold grudges Are hypersensitive and take criticism poorly Read hidden meanings in the innocent remarks...
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