Personality Disorder
Personality disorder describes long term inflexible and maladaptive personality traits that result in significant distress and impairment for the person and usually others around them. These traits often emerge in adolescence or early adulthood and affect most areas of life, including relationships, work, and study. Common types include borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, obsessive compulsive, avoidant and schizotypal personality disorder.
The impact of Personality Disorders
People with personality disorders may experience difficulties managing their emotions and communicating these feelings to other people. Some people experience very intense emotions that are hard to manage and can change suddenly. Some may experience intense anger, feel very nervous, or be highly suspicious. It can be hard to manage these distressing emotions alone and people with personality disorders may hurt themselves or others as a way to cope with overwhelming feelings.
People with personality disorders can find it difficult to manage relationships with other people. This can include intense on-and-off relationships and strong fears of being abandoned and high sensitivity to others. Some may want to have relationships but intensely fear them at the same time. Some may feel a complete lack of interest in relationships or have difficulty understanding or showing care for those around them, and some may act in a hurtful way towards others.
Though these problems might appear different, they all mean that people with personality disorders can find it challenging to maintain meaningful and satisfying relationships.
We can help you
- Improving relationships in your life
- Managing difficult emotions
- Finding stability in your moods
- Tolerating difficulties and distress
People with lived experience of personality disorder express how important both diagnosis and treatment are for their recovery journey. Specialist psychological treatments provided by mental health professionals have been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms and improving life quality! The Stress and Trauma Centre use therapy models such as Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy to address the underlying reasons for the ongoing difficulties in here and now. These are not short-term fixes but rather are therapies that aim to provide long lasting changes for individuals.
What to expect
Making your first appointment
Once you’ve decided to try therapy, call our kind and caring admin team on (02) 9139 0126 to discuss what you are having difficulty with and book your first appointment.
Attending the initial consultation
In the initial consultation, your therapist is looking to build a picture of how you’ve come to where you are today and what you are looking to get out of therapy. Your therapist will do their best to address any questions or concerns you may have about the process.
Creating a treatment plan together
Over the first three sessions, your therapist will work collaboratively with you to establish goals for therapy. They are designed to be specific, realistic, and tailored to your needs.
Undergoing therapy
As your therapy goes on, you will continue the process of building a trusting relationship with your therapist. You will work with them to find alternative ways of thinking and behaving, build resilience and learn new skills that will help to see yourself and the world differently, and promote helpful actions in life.
Book an appointment today
Ready to see a psychologist?
There can be lots of questions that come up when you’re trying to make a decision about whether to see a psychologist. If you have a question that we haven’t answered in our FAQ, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on (02) 9139 0126 or email info@marsdenpsychology.com.au . Our friendly support team will get back to you within one business day.