Personality disorders

Personality disorders are common conditions that place a significant burden on the individual sufferer, their carers, and wider society. Patients with personality disorder can be complex to manage and co-morbid personality disorder can impact adversely on the treatment and prognosis of other disorders. Therapeutic advances and changing expectations of healthcare commissioners now challenge the previous reluctance of doctors to engage these patients in treatment, and Department of Health policy emphasizes that service providers must address the needs of this patient population. Despite previous pessimism regarding the treatability of personality disorder, there is a growing body of literature supporting the efficacy of various treatment approaches, especially for problematic behaviours such as self-harming. This article reviews the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical presentation, assessment and management of personality disorders.