Lesson 1Assessing comorbidities common with personality disorders: mood, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, ADHD, and when to refer for neurocognitive testingReviews common comorbidities with personality disorders, such as mood, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, and ADHD. Covers screening methods, differential diagnosis, treatment sequencing, and indications for neurocognitive testing or specialist referral to guide comprehensive care.
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 techniquesProvides approaches for assessing trauma and attachment patterns using ACEs, structured questionnaires, and clinical interviewing. Stresses pacing, safety measures, dissociation screening, and connecting trauma to current personality functioning for holistic understanding.
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 assessmentExamines how culture influences personality expression and assessment, covering cultural identity, explanatory models, norms, and clinician bias. Offers strategies for cultural formulation, contextualising symptoms, and avoiding pathologising cultural differences in evaluations.
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 therapistsExplores ethical and practical steps for obtaining collateral history, including consent processes, selecting suitable informants, structuring questions, and resolving discrepancies to improve reliability and minimise bias in personality assessments.
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 historyDetails elements of a comprehensive psychiatric history adapted for personality pathology, including developmental milestones, trauma, attachment, education and employment, legal matters, substance use, and previous treatments, with focus on chronology and context.
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 triggersFocuses on evaluating real-world functioning in work, school, relationships, self-care, and risk areas. Highlights linking functional impairments to personality traits, identifying triggers, and applying findings to determine care levels and interventions.
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 synthesising findings into a diagnostic formulation and problem listCovers organising interview data into a coherent diagnostic formulation, connecting symptoms to personality traits, prioritising a problem list, and communicating findings clearly to patients and teams for effective treatment planning and risk management.
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, interpretationIntroduces main structured diagnostic instruments for personality disorders, such as SCID-5-PD, SCID-5-CV, and IPDE. Discusses indications, administration, scoring, interpretation, and integrating results with clinical judgement for reliable diagnoses.
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 testingDescribes conducting a mental status exam emphasising personality features, including affect regulation, identity, cognition, empathy, and reality testing. Covers documentation language and implications for diagnosis in clinical practice.
Observing affective range and stabilityAssessing identity and self-conceptEvaluating thought content and styleAssessing empathy and perspective takingReality testing and micropsychotic signsDocumenting personality-relevant findings
