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The diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder does not in and of itself imply a given treatment. Because the range of narcissistic character pathology is broad, the reasons for seeking treatment multiple, and the…

Although individual psychodynamically informed treatment is generally recommended to achieve lasting character change, other therapeutic modalities have a role in special circumstances. Conjoint marital and individual therapy have been found useful in…

Arnold Cooper has explored the intimate interweaving between narcissism and masochism in both normal development and pathological character. He argues for the union of the two categories into a single “narcissistic-masochistic…

What brings individuals with narcissistic personality disorder to a psychiatrist’s or psychotherapist’s office? A range of symptoms and precipitants, which revolve around a threat to or breakdown of the person’s defensive…

Otto Kernberg’s description of the pathological narcissistic individual centers around a set of paradoxes: self-inflation existing alongside a limitless need for praise, a charming and engaging surface covering a ruthless interior,…

For Heinz Kohut and the school of self psychology that he founded, the narcissistic individual is known by the transference he or she forms. Kohut opened the world of narcissistic pathology…

Although hospitalization is sometimes necessary for the treatment of an Axis I disorder in individuals with dependent personality disorder, residential treatments are generally not indicated. However, residential and…

Four studies have explored the use of medications in the treatment of dependent personality disorder, and two studies have investigated their use in the treatment of dependent traits. Diagnostic and other limitations…

Several reports suggest that group psychotherapy can be successful for the treatment of dependent personality disorder. Montgomery used group therapy for dependent patients who used medications for chronic complaints such as insomnia…

Turkat and Carlson reported two behavioral treatments of a patient with dependent personality disorder. The patient initially had been treated with behavioral techniques for anxiety-related complaints but had relapsed immediately after termination.…

In one controlled treatment trial, two types of short-term dynamic psychotherapy (consisting of a mean of 40 sessions) were compared with a waiting-list control condition in patients largely with the anxious-cluster (Cluster C) personality…

No studies have been devoted solely to the treatment of dependent personality disorder, although some studies have included dependent personality disorder, suggesting a need for further case studies and controlled treatment trials to…

Knowledge of what causes excessive dependency to develop and continue into adulthood should inform the selection of treatment. The studies described here offer some hypotheses and findings to this…

In a study of 400 consecutive outpatients, Whitman et al. (1954) noted that 23% had a passive-dependent personality, the most prevalent personality type. Their presenting complaints included depression (36%), anxiety (29%), somatic…

Many of the problems that arise in treating OCPD stem from the character traits originally described by Freud: obstinacy, excessive orderliness, and parsimony. Because these watchful patients are…

Practical considerations often make full psychoanalysis for patients with OCPD impossible, but for correctly selected candidates, extended psychoanalysis (five times per week) is highly desirable. Indeed, many, if not most, experienced…

The relation between OCPD and OCD has been controversial. Historically, many authors theorized that the two disorders were considered part of the same spectrum of illness. Evidence is growing, however, that the…

The literature describing the treatment of OCPD is somewhat confusing because of a lack of clear distinction between OCPD and OCD. This is especially true of the older literature and the earlier pharmacological…

Patients with OCPD tend to be constricted in many aspects of their lives. Relationships may be stiff, formal, and distant, and affects are shallow. Although often slavishly devoted to their work, these…

In formulating guidelines for the treatment of avoidant personality disorder, it is important to bear in mind that this disorder shares many similarities with the Axis I disorder social phobia, as well…