Full Text Full Text (PDF) Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Gabbard, G. O. Search for Related Content Articles by Gabbard, G. O.

Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality Disorders

From the Menninger Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Send reprint requests to Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., Menninger Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS HMC500, Houston, TX 77030; e-mail, ggabbard{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

Personality disorders are pervasive in practice despite their relegation to a separate axis in the DSM system. The psychodynamically informed clinician may recognize personality disorders because of the recreation in the clinical setting of a pattern of object relationships. Representations of self in relation to others connected by affect states become etched in neural networks in the course of development and become repetitive patterns of relatedness. Recent research suggests that the clinician’s countertransference may be a useful way to detect the presence of specific personality disorders. Moreover, biological alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and amygdala secondary to trauma may contribute to these relatedness patterns. A growing body of evidence suggests that psychodynamic therapy is efficacious in treating personality disorders, in some cases in conjunction with medication. This clinical synthesis outlines a systematic approach to diagnostic understanding and treatment based on clinical theory and recent research in the field of personality disorders.

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2005 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us