Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay
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Discussion: Treatment of Personality Disorders
Personality disorders occur in 10–20% of the population. They are difficult to treat as individuals with personality disorders are less likely to seek help than individuals with other mental health disorders. Treatment can be challenging as they do not see their symptoms as painful to themselves or others.Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay In this Discussion, you will explore personality disorders in greater detail and discuss treatment options using evidence-based research. Learning Objectives Students will: • Analyze diagnostic criteria for personality disorders • Analyze evidence-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatments for personality disorders • Analyze clinical features of clients with personality disorders • Align clinical features with DSM-5 criteria • Compare differential diagnostic features of personality disorders To prepare for this Discussion: • By Day 5 of Week 2, your Instructor will have assigned you a personality disorder(antisocial personality), which will be your focus for your initial post for this Discussion. Review the Learning Resources. By Day 3 Post: • Explain the diagnostic criteria for your assigned personality disorder(antisocial personality). • Explain the evidenced-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatment for antisocial personality disorder. • Describe clinical features from a client that led you to believe this client had this disorder. Align the clinical features with the DSM-5 criteria. • Support your rationale with references to the Learning Resources or other academic resources.Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay By Day 6 Respond to at least two of your colleagues by comparing the differential diagnostic features of the disorder you were assigned to the diagnostic features of the disorder your colleagues were assigned. What are their similarities and differences? How might you differentiate the two diagnoses? |
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Diagnostic Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder
Rarely do most individuals with personality disorders seek treatment from their personal initiative. In most cases, such individuals are always mandated to treatment either by a close friend or family or by the court. Making a diagnosis requires a thorough history taking in order to rule out other conditions with similar presentation such as ADHD, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (Crego & Widiger, 2018). The following signs and symptoms warrant an immediate diagnosis. A client who portrays pervasive behavior of violating other people’s rights since 15 years of age, repeatedly engaging in behaviors which are grounds for arrest, repeated lying/deceit, failure to plan ahead, aggressiveness, disregard for others safety, consistently being irresponsible and lack of remorse (Crego & Widiger, 2018). It should also be noted that, for antisocial personality disorder to be diagnosed, social behavior should not exclusively take place during the episode of a mania or schizophrenia.
Evidence-Based Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacologic Treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder
Psychotherapy is the most effective treatment approach. The FDA has however not approved any drug to be used in the management of antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay
However, drugs can be prescribed for the purposes of stabilizing moods and in concurrent diagnoses of acute (Crego & Widiger, 2018). For instance, lithium carbonate is the best medication for managing aggression in patients with antisocial personality disorder (Bateman, Gunderson & Mulder, 2015). It helps to reduce the effects of aggressiveness, outbursts of temper, bullying and fighting. Another drug for reducing impulsivity is phenytoin, also known as dilatin. However, these medications should be administered under supervision as they prevent aggressiveness but can potentially lead to irreversible side effects. It should also be noted that, tranquilizers which belong to benzodiazepines shouldn’t be used to manage individuals with antisocial personality disorder s they can lead to addiction and lose control of behavior. As suggested by Beck, Broder & Hindman (2016), the most suitable form of psychotherapy is family/group cognitive behavioral therapy as it tends to increase understanding among members of the family. Besides, group CBT is the most suitable as it presents people with the platform and opportunity to comfortably discuss individual behaviors, thoughts and feelings with others of similar issues (Beck, Broder & Hindman, 2016).
Clinical Features of A Client That Led to the Diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder Based on the DSM-5 Criteria
FG, a 46 year old African American woman was referred by the court for a mental health assessment. She had recently been involved in a grand fraud which involved sixty men and women who had just retired across different states in two years. The victims involved in this case had lost lifetime savings and some had even suffered stress and other symptoms which were life-threatening. Although she appeared to be irritated to attend the assessment, she tried hiding her displeasure through claims of being eager to reform and be reintegrated back to society. When questioned about her feelings concerning two of the victims who had suffered a heart attack and instantly died as a result of the offence that she had committed, she barely suppressed her urge to laugh and later denied responsibility with claims that the victims were adults who were well informed of their actions and decisions thus they only had themselves to blame. When asked the motivation behind her actions, she blatantly cited money before recomposing herself to highlight that, if the plan had worked out, the victims could have had a good retirement as compared to their pensions which were not only meager but also laughable.Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay
References
Bateman, A. W., Gunderson, J., & Mulder, R. (2015). Treatment of personality disorder. The Lancet, 385(9969), 735-743.
Beck, J. S., Broder, F., & Hindman, R. (2016). Frontiers in cognitive behaviour therapy for personality disorders. Behaviour Change, 33(2), 80-93.
Crego, C., & Widiger, T. A. (2018). Antisocial–psychopathic personality disorder. In Developmental Pathways to Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders (pp. 91-118). Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay