Personality disorders – management
The management of patients with personality disorders can be enormously challenging. They may be extremely distressed and demanding, and often disagree with the treatment plan offered. Patients who repeatedly threaten or carry out harm to themselves or others are particularly draining to those involved in their care. One way to deal with these challenges is to refuse to take them on and this approach may be justified in cases where psychiatric care has been ineffective or even made things worse. However, if specific treatments are combined with some basic principles of management, it is often possible to help what may seem like a relentless tide of problems (Fig. 1).
