Lesson 1Assessing comorbidities common with personality disorders: mood, anxiety, PTSD, substance use, ADHD, and when to refer for neurocognitive testingThis lesson reviews frequent comorbidities in personality disorders, such as mood issues, anxiety, PTSD, substance misuse, and ADHD. It covers screening methods, distinguishing diagnoses, treatment sequencing, and when to seek neurocognitive testing or specialist referrals.
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 approaches to evaluate trauma and attachment styles using ACEs, structured questionnaires, and clinical interviews. It stresses pacing, ensuring safety, screening for dissociation, and connecting past trauma to present personality dynamics.
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 investigates how culture influences personality expression and assessment, covering cultural identity, explanatory models, norms, and clinician biases. It provides tactics for cultural formulation, contextualising symptoms, and steering clear of pathologising cultural differences.
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 delves into ethical and practical aspects of gathering collateral history, including consent processes, choosing suitable informants, framing questions, and resolving inconsistencies to boost reliability and minimise bias in personality evaluations.
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 outlines elements of a thorough psychiatric history adapted for personality pathology, encompassing developmental stages, trauma, attachment, education and work history, legal matters, substance use, and previous treatments, with focus on timeline 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 triggersThis lesson concentrates on evaluating everyday functioning in work, school, relationships, self-care, and risk areas. It highlights connecting functional challenges to personality traits, spotting triggers, and applying insights 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 synthesizing findings into a diagnostic formulation and problem listThis lesson explains organising interview data into a clear diagnostic formulation, relating symptoms to personality traits, prioritising problems, and sharing findings effectively with patients and teams to inform treatment plans and risk handling.
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 discusses when to use them, how to administer, score, interpret, and blend results with clinical insights.
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 performing a mental status exam targeting personality aspects, such as affect control, identity, cognition, empathy, and reality testing. It covers documentation language and diagnostic implications.
Observing affective range and stabilityAssessing identity and self-conceptEvaluating thought content and styleAssessing empathy and perspective takingReality testing and micropsychotic signsDocumenting personality-relevant findings
