paranoid personality disorder
Treatment Recommendation(s):
psychotherapy
cognitive behavioral therapy
interpersonal therapy
medications such as diazepam or thioridazine (to help with symptoms such as anxiety or delusions)
Justification:
According to the DSM-5, paranoid personality disorder is defined as the extreme distrust and suspiciousness of others to a point where an individuals motives may be construed as malignant. Thus, an inidividual must meet four or more of the symptoms presented in the DSM-5 to be diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder:
Suspects that others are deceiving, harming, or exploiting them
Ever since Alan was a teenager, he had feelings that the people he knew were out to harm him in some …show more content…
Alan was convinced that she was accusing him of being a poor manager.
Has suspicions without justification about the fidelity of sexual partner
He wonders whether his wife is having an affair with his boss and constantly harasses her about her whereabouts.
Alan recalls an instance where his wife left a note saying she had a class and could not make dinner that night. He believed that what she was saying was that soon she would not be making dinners at all because she would be leaving him for his boss.
According to the DSM-5, Alan does not show any symptoms associated with or exclusive to schizophrenia, a bipolar disorder or a depressive disorder during the course of paranoid personality disorder. It also does not mention any other medical condition or other psychological effects that his diagnosis could be attributable to.
Treatment:
The treatment of choice for Alan would be psychotherapy, which generally focuses on increasing coping skills and improving communication and social skills. Psychotherapy will help Alan understand his emotions, behaviors and ideations that contribute to his condition thus, helping him determine what aspects of these problems he is able to