Your personality is your unique way of understanding and interacting with yourself and the world around you, influenced by inherited traits, experiences, and environment.
However, some factors may cause you to develop rigid, unhealthy traits so pronounced that they cause significant distress and problems functioning.
Personality disorders are among the most complex mental health conditions — but they are treatable. Receiving treatment helps you recognize the roots of your challenges, opening doors to lasting change.
If you or a loved one has a personality disorder and you’re looking for a treatment center near Chattanooga, TN, help is available at Summit at Harmony Oaks.
About Personality Disorders
Personality disorders are a group of mental health conditions that show patterns of thinking, behaving, and relating that don’t meet your culture’s norms and expectations.
This enduring pattern is inflexible and appears across different personal and social situations, leading to distress and impairment in functioning.
These struggles can lead to feelings of confusion and misunderstanding, especially as people with personality disorders may not recognize that their thoughts and behaviors are problematic.
However, a full, productive life is within reach with the right support and treatment. Personality disorders are highly treatable, and at Summit at Harmony Oaks, your recovery is our top priority.
What Are the Causes of Personality Disorders?
It’s unclear what exactly causes personality disorders, but they’re often complex and have multiple contributing factors.
Here are possible factors that may contribute to personality disorder development:
- Genes
- Temperament
- Early life experiences, like trauma and abuse
- Verbal abuse
- High reactivity or sensitivity to stimuli
- Culture
Who Is at Risk of Developing Personality Disorders?
Certain people have a higher chance of developing personality disorders. Groups of people with the following traits may be more likely to experience these conditions:
- Gender: Certain personality disorders occur more in males (i.e., antisocial), while others occur more frequently in females (i.e., borderline, dependent, histrionic).
- Having adverse childhood experiences: This includes experiences of abuse, neglect, or an unstable, unsupportive childhood.
- Specific personality traits: These include a tendency to avoid (or disregard) punishment, seek novelty, or prefer familiarity and routine.
- Certain cultures: Personality disorders are more common among Western countries than Asian countries.
What Are the Symptoms of Personality Disorders?
The symptoms of personality disorders vary widely, and each has its own set of symptoms. But generally, all personality disorders involve problems with:
- Uncertain or unclear sense of self: You don’t have a stable self-image/
- Relationships: Your inflexibility and problematic beliefs and behaviors may prevent you from forming close, trusting relationships with others.
In addition, most people with personality disorders think that their thoughts or behaviors are normal and do not see them as problematic.
Types of Personality Disorders Treated at Harmony Oaks
Personality disorders are grouped into ‘clusters’, as follows.
Cluster A: people with these disorders appear odd and eccentric:
- Paranoid personality disorder: Persistent distrust and suspicion of others, often doubting loyalty and interpreting harmless actions as hostile. They may hold grudges and react strongly to perceived insults.
- Schizoid personality disorder: Preference for solitude and limited emotional expression, often appearing detached and indifferent to social relationships.
- Schizotypal personality disorder: Unusual perceptions, behaviors, and discomfort with close relationships, often involving odd beliefs or magical thinking.
Cluster B: people with these disorders appear erratic, emotional, and dramatic:
- Antisocial personality disorder: Disregard for others’ rights, often involving deceit, impulsivity, or aggression. They may repeatedly violate social norms, including laws.
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD): Emotional instability and impulsive behavior, with intense fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, and possible self-harming behaviors, like suicide attempts.
- Histrionic personality disorder: Attention-seeking and excessive emotionality, with a desire to be the center of attention, and tends to see relationships as closer than they are.
- Narcissistic personality disorder: Need for admiration and lack of empathy, often involving a sense of entitlement and exploitation of others.
Cluster C: people with these disorders are often fearful and anxious:
- Avoidant personality disorder: Social inhibition and sensitivity to rejection, with feelings of inadequacy and a strong desire for social acceptance despite avoiding interactions.
- Dependent personality disorder: Excessive need for care and fear of separation, leading to submissive behaviors and difficulty making decisions independently.
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: Preoccupation with orderliness and control, often displaying perfectionism that interferes with daily life.
Most Insurance Accepted
As a member of the Harmony Health Group family of treatment programs, we are able to work with many private insurance plans.
Verify InsuranceSide Effects & Complications of Personality Disorders
Personality disorders tend to worsen without treatment. Because people with these disorders don’t see anything wrong with their behavior, they are less likely to seek help. When they do, it’s for another mental illness, like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse.
Potential complications that may arise from living with the disorder long-term without support or treatment:
- Having problems with school or work
- Developing mood and anxiety disorders, like bipolar disorder
- Developing psychiatric disorders
- Difficulty forming and keeping relationships
- Developing substance use disorder
- Accidental injury, trauma, and homicide
Personality Disorder Treatment in Chattanooga, TN
Personality disorders tend to have a poor outlook because many people facing these conditions don’t seek help. This doesn’t have to be the case — studies show that all types of personality disorders can benefit from psychotherapy.
Our specialized facility at Summit at Harmony Oaks is committed to delivering comprehensive, individualized care tailored to your needs.
Inpatient treatment programs offer 24/7 care and support from mental health professionals in a safe, controlled setting for those dealing with severe mental health concerns and crises.
In the program, you’ll stay at our treatment facility, where you can receive comprehensive, evidence-based therapies, medication management for symptoms, and support services to help deal with other issues contributing to your personality disorder.
Summit at Harmony Oaks offers a range of outpatient programs.
Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) provide high-level support for people with significant challenges who don’t need 24-hour care. PHP includes structured treatment 6-8 hours a day, five days a week, allowing clients to return home in the evenings.
Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) offer similar support but with shorter (3-4 hours) therapy sessions, three to five times weekly, depending on your symptoms. Both PHP and IOP include individual and group therapy, psychoeducation, and support services.
Traditional outpatient programs are suited for those needing ongoing support, where you attend therapy sessions as needed while continuing with your daily life.
Personality disorders often have co-occurring substance use disorders or mental health conditions. They interact and impact each other and your overall recovery.
At Summit at Harmony Oaks, we take an integrated approach, addressing both mental health and substance use disorders through our dual diagnosis program.
This program provides individualized treatment plans with counseling, psychoeducation, and supportive services to enhance emotional health, reduce relapse risk, and support lasting recovery.
Therapies for Personality Disorders at Summit at Harmony Oaks
Summit at Harmony Oaks offers a range of treatment options, including different types of therapy and alternative and holistic practices, to provide you with evidence-based, personalized care.
CBT helps clients with personality disorders identify and modify negative thought patterns that drive unhelpful behaviors.
Through structured sessions, clients learn healthier coping mechanisms and develop self-awareness, empowering them to make positive changes to their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.
The 12-step program at Summit at Harmony Oaks supports those with personality disorders who are also struggling with substance use by guiding them through steps focused on acceptance, accountability, and self-awareness.
We also offer group therapy, providing a supportive environment where clients can share experiences, build connections, and learn from peers facing similar challenges, fostering a solid support network for recovery.
Whether you prefer one-on-one sessions or involving loved ones, Summit at Harmony Oaks offers personalized support options.
Family therapy engages your family members and friends in the healing process, improving communication and resolving conflicts. This is especially valuable for personality disorders, where relationship dynamics can be challenging or even contribute to the disorder.
Individual therapy provides a private space for exploring personal strategies. This helps clients with personality disorders build specific coping skills and self-awareness.
Trauma recovery therapy at Summit at Harmony Oaks provides a safe space for clients to process traumatic experiences that may impact personality disorders.
Through evidence-based approaches, clients learn coping skills to manage trauma-related symptoms, rebuilding trust in themselves and their environment.
Our approach includes eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which helps clients reprocess traumatic memories, reducing their impact and restoring emotional stability. This is essential for managing personality disorder symptoms.
At Summit at Harmony Oaks, you can access a range of health and wellness activities. These alternative practices help improve your physical and mental well-being.
Adventure therapy may include activities like hiking and equine therapy. It aims to promote experiences that foster your personal growth and self-discovery.
Yoga promotes a mind-body connection, reducing stress and improving focus — skills that teach you to manage personality disorders.
Music therapy provides a creative outlet for emotional expression, supporting self-awareness and emotional processing in recovery.
Start Personality Disorder Recovery at Summit at Harmony Oaks
Contact UsLiving with a personality disorder can profoundly impact how you think, feel, and connect with others, making everyday life a challenge.
At Summit at Harmony Oaks, our dedicated team creates a personalized treatment plan that combines the right therapies to help you manage your symptoms, improve relationships, and find balance.
Take the first step toward a more fulfilling life. Reach out to Summit at Harmony Oaks today.
Personality Disorder Treatment Program FAQs
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, is the most effective treatment for personality disorder. There are various types of psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
A health care provider may prescribe medications like antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or antipsychotics to manage symptoms, like mood swings.
You should consider an inpatient (i.e., hospital or residential) treatment program for yourself if your symptoms are serious enough that you can’t care for yourself or pose harm to yourself or others.
No. You can’t be cured of personality disorder, but you can recover from it. Recovery means that you no longer meet the criteria for a personality disorder for a prolonged period of time.
Sources
- American Psychiatric Association. “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition Text Revision DSM-5-TR.” Retrieved from: https://www.mredscircleoftrust.com/storage/app/media/DSM%205%20TR.pdf. Accessed on October 29, 2024
- American Psychiatric Association. “What are Personality Disorders?”. Retrieved from: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/personality-disorders/what-are-personality-disorders. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- American Psychological Association. “What causes personality disorders?.” Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/topics/personality-disorders/causes. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- Medline Plus. “Personality disorders”. Retrieved from: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000939.htm. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “Attainment and Stability of Sustained Symptomatic Remission and Recovery among Borderline Patients and Axis II Comparison Subjects: A 16-year Prospective Follow-up Study”. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3509999/. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “Personality disorder”. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556058/. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “Risk and Protective Factors for Personality Disorders: An Umbrella Review of Published Meta-Analyses of Case–Control and Cohort Studies”. Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8450571/. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “The Natural History of Personality Disorders: Recovery and Residual Symptoms.” Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4500178/. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- Research Gate. “A systematic review of the global prevalence of personality disorders in adult Asian populations.” Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265297320. Accessed on October 29, 2024.
- The American Journal of Psychiatry. “Effectiveness of Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders”. Retrieved from: https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.156.9.1312. Accessed on October 29, 2024.