Lesson 1Assessing comorbidities common with personality disorders: mood, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, ADHD, and when to refer for neurocognitive testingThis lesson reviews common comorbidities with personality disorders, such as mood issues, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, and ADHD. It covers screening methods, differential diagnosis, treatment sequencing, and when to refer for neurocognitive testing or specialist help in local settings.
Screening for mood and anxiety disordersIdentifying PTSD and complex traumaSubstance use and addictive behaviorsRecognizing ADHD across the lifespanWhen to refer for neurocognitive testingTreatment sequencing with comorbidityLesson 2Assessing trauma and attachment patterns: using ACEs, childhood trauma questionnaires, and clinical interview techniquesThis lesson offers methods for assessing trauma and attachment patterns using ACEs, structured questionnaires, and clinical interviews. It stresses pacing, ensuring safety, screening for dissociation, and connecting trauma to current personality functioning in everyday practice.
Using ACEs and similar screening toolsChildhood trauma questionnaires in depthInterviewing for attachment experiencesAssessing dissociation and fragmentationPacing, safety, and stabilizationConnecting trauma to current patternsLesson 3Cultural formulation and differential baseline personality expression: cultural identity, explanatory models, and bias reduction in assessmentThis lesson looks at how culture influences personality expression and assessment, covering cultural identity, explanatory models, local norms, and reducing clinician bias. It provides strategies for cultural formulation, contextualising symptoms, and avoiding pathologising cultural differences in Botswana.
Eliciting cultural identity and affiliationsExploring cultural explanatory modelsNorms for emotion, behavior, and selfDistinguishing culture from pathologyRecognizing and managing clinician biasUsing cultural formulation interviewsLesson 4Collateral history gathering: consent, sources, how to elicit reliable information from family, primary care, past therapistsThis lesson explores ethical and practical steps for gathering collateral history, including consent processes, choosing suitable informants, structuring questions, and resolving discrepancies to improve reliability and cut bias in personality assessments within community settings.
Obtaining and documenting informed consentSelecting appropriate collateral informantsStructuring collateral interviews for clarityManaging conflicting collateral informationAddressing confidentiality and privacy limitsLesson 5Comprehensive psychiatric history: developmental, trauma, attachment, education/employment, legal, substance use, treatment historyThis lesson details parts of a full psychiatric history adapted for personality pathology, including developmental stages, trauma, attachment, education and work, legal matters, substance use, and past treatments, with focus on timeline and context in local environments.
Developmental milestones and temperamentFamily environment and attachment historyEducational and occupational trajectoryLegal, financial, and housing historySubstance use patterns and consequencesPrior treatments and response patternsLesson 6Functional assessment: occupational, social, interpersonal functioning, activities of daily living, risk triggersThis lesson focuses on evaluating real-life functioning in work, school, relationships, self-care, and risk areas. It highlights linking impairments to personality traits, spotting triggers, and using results to guide care levels and interventions in practical settings.
Assessing occupational and academic rolesEvaluating social and intimate relationshipsActivities of daily living and self-careIdentifying risk triggers and patternsLinking traits to functional impairmentUsing functioning to guide treatmentLesson 7Documenting and synthesizing findings into a diagnostic formulation and problem listThis lesson covers organising interview data into a clear diagnostic formulation, connecting symptoms to personality traits, prioritising problems, and sharing findings plainly with patients and teams to direct treatment planning and risk handling in clinics.
Organizing data by domains and timelinesLinking traits, symptoms, and stressorsDrafting a multiaxial style formulationPrioritizing and structuring the problem listCommunicating formulations to patientsUpdating formulations over timeLesson 8Structured diagnostic instruments: SCID-5-PD, SCID-5-CV, IPDE — administration, scoring, interpretationThis lesson introduces main structured tools for diagnosing personality disorders, like SCID-5-PD, SCID-5-CV, and IPDE. It covers when to use them, how to administer, score, interpret, and blend results with clinical judgement in routine assessments.
Overview of major PD interview toolsIndications and contraindications for usePreparing patients and setting expectationsStandardized administration proceduresScoring, thresholds, and reliabilityIntegrating results with clinical judgmentLesson 9Mental status examination focused on personality features: affective lability, identity, cognition, empathy, reality testingThis lesson describes conducting a mental status exam with focus on personality aspects, including affect control, identity, cognition, empathy, and reality testing. It points out documentation language and effects on diagnosis in everyday consultations.
Observing affective range and stabilityAssessing identity and self-conceptEvaluating thought content and styleAssessing empathy and perspective takingReality testing and micropsychotic signsDocumenting personality-relevant findings
