Acronyms
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Paranoid Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 1 characteristic.
What is SUSPECT?
S: Spouse fidelity suspected
U: Unforgiving, bears a grudge
S: Suspicious of others
P: Perceives attacks (and reacts quickly)
E: “Enemy or friend,” suspects associates & friends
C: Confiding in others is feared
T: Threats perceived in benign events
Name two elements of the treatment for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Stay neutral & avoid power struggles
Avoid being defensive when client is critical
Convey unassuming self-confidence
Psychotherapy & group therapy if pt acknowledges narcissism
No medications recommended
Goals are to promote healthier sense of individuality, recognize others as separate people, improve coping
Name two elements of the treatment for Avoidant Personality Disorder.
Friendly, accepting, reassuring approach
Ease into social situations very gradually
Psychotherapy & group therapy for trust issues
Assertiveness training
Antidepressants & antianxiety agents
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.
Double points for naming at least 1 characteristic.
What is LAW FIRMS?
L: Loses point of activity due to preoccupation with detail
A: Ability to complete tasks due to perfectionism
W: Worthless objects can’t be discarded
F: Friendships & leisure activities excluded due to a preoccupation with work
I: Inflexible, scrupulous, over conscientious on ethics, values, or morality, not accounted for by religion or culture
R: Reluctant to delegate unless others submit to exact guidelines
M: Miserly toward self and others
S: Stubbornness & rigidity
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Schizoid Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 2 characteristics.
What is DISTANT?
D: Detached or flattened affect
I: Indifferent to criticism and praise
S: Sexual experiences of little interest
T: Tasks (activities) done solitarily
A: Absence of close friends
N: Neither desires or enjoys close relationships
T: Takes pleasure in few activities
Name two elements of the treatment for Dependent Personality Disorder.
Identify & help address stressors
Need to meet pt’s needs while setting limits on clinging behavior
Model assertiveness
Psychotherapy, behavioral, group & family therapy
Antianxiety agents & antidepressants for specific symptoms
Name two elements of the treatment for Schizotypal Personality Disorder.
Be aware of tendency toward isolation & suspiciousness
Treat symptoms as needed
Antipsychotics for delusions and hallucinations
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Double points for naming 2 characteristics.
What is CORRUPT?
C: Conformity to law lacking
O: Obligations ignored
R: Reckless disregard for safety of self or others
R: Remorse lacking
U: Underhanded (deceitful, lies, cons others)
P: Planning insufficient (impulsive)
T: Temper (irritable and aggressive)
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Schizotypal Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 3 characteristics.
What is ME PECULIAR?
M: Magical thinking or odd beliefs
E: Experiences unusual perceptions
P: Paranoid ideation
E: Eccentric behavior or appearance
C: Constricted (or inappropriate) affect
U: Unusual (odd) thinking and speech
L: Lacks close friends
I: Ideas of reference
A: Anxiety in social situations
R: Rule out psychotic disorders and pervasive developmental disorder
Name two elements of the treatment for Paranoid Personality Disorder.
Antianxiety meds to increase relaxation
Antipsychotics for delusions, agitation
Likely to refuse psychiatry or therapy
Maintain business-like approach
Offer reality
Name two elements of the treatment for Schizoid Personality Disorder.
Welbutrin to increase pleasure in life & relationships
Atypical antipsychotics may help with emotional withdrawal
Be aware of tendency towards isolation
Give clear, concrete explanations
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Borderline Personality Disorder.
Double points for naming 3 characteristics.
What is AM SUICIDE?
A: Abandonment issues
M: Mood instability (marked reactivity of mood)
S: Suicidal or self-mutilating behavior
U: Unstable and intense relationships
I: Impulsivity in two potentially self-damaging areas
C: Control of anger is lacking
I: Identity disturbance
D: Dissociative or paranoid symptoms that are transient and stress-related
E: Emptiness, feelings of chronic emptiness
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Histrionic Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 4 characteristics.
What is PRAISE ME?
P: Provocative or sexually seductive behavior
R: Relationships considered more intimate than they are
A: Attention, are uncomfortable when not the center of attention
I: Influenced easily
S: Style of speech is impressionistic, lacks detail
E: Emotions are rapidly shifting and shallow
M: Made up, uses physical appearance used to draw attention to self
E: Emotions exaggerated & theatrical
Name 3 elements of the treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.
Guard against power struggles & use of defense mechanisms (intellectualization, rationalization, isolation)
Psychotherapy
SSRIs like Prozac for obsessional thinking & depression
Group therapy & self-help groups to learn from others
Name 3 elements of the treatment for Histrionic Personality Disorder.
Seductive & flamboyant behavior used as response to stress
Keep nurse-pt relationship professional
Encourage/model use of concrete language
Teach & model assertiveness
Group therapy
Antidepressants
Goals are to prevent suicide, gain insight into unrealistic expectations & fears
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Dependent Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 4 characteristics.
What is RELIANCE?
R: Reassurance required for decisions
E: Expressing disagreement is difficult due to fear of loss of support or approval
L: Life responsibilities need to be assumed by others
I: Initiating projects is difficult due to lack of self-confidence)
A: Alone, feels helpless and uncomfortable when alone
N: Nurturance, goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others
C: Companionship from another relationship sought urgently when close relationship ends
E: Exaggerated fears of being left to care for self
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Double the points if you name 5 characteristics.
What is SPECIAL?
S: Special, believes he or she is special and unique
P: Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
E: Entitlement
C: Conceited with grandiose sense of self-importance
I: Interpersonal exploitation
A: Arrogant
L: Lacks empathy
Name 3 elements of the treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder.
Assess: impulsivity, SI, self-mutilation, aggressiveness, psychosis
Maintain safety
Set clear, realistic goals
Be alert to manipulative behavior
Help to cope/control emotions by structured environment, journaling, & consistent limits
Decrease splitting & staff conflicts by team communication
Check self for counter-transference
Do not reject or rescue
Behavioral problems are addressed by revisiting goals & boundaries
Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, group therapy
Antipsychotics to control anger & psychosis
Antidepressants
Name 3 elements of the treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Document manipulation, aggression, impulsivity
Set up clear boundaries & consequences
Use clear, realistic limits on specific behaviors
Staff should guard against being manipulated or feeling guilty
Ask patient to control their behavior but assist prn
Goals are to improve relationships, gain insight into feelings & behaviors
Assess threats & get help if patient out of control
Increase restrictions for client/unit safety
Offer antianxiety meds or antidepressants for anxiety, agitation
Ritalin for ADHD
Anticonvulsants to decrease impulsive behavior
This is the acronym for the symptoms that characterize Avoidant Personality Disorder.
Double points if you name 5 characteristics.
What is CRINGES?
C: Certainty of being liked required before willing to get involved with others
R: Rejection or criticism preoccupies one's thoughts in social situations
I: Intimate relationships are restrained due to fear of being shamed
N: New interpersonal relationships are inhibited
G: Gets around (avoids) occupational activity involving significant interpersonal contact
E: Embarrassment (potential) prevents new activity or taking personal risks
S: Self viewed as unappealing, inept, or inferior