Contemporary personality disorder assessment in clients with anxiety disorders

Abstract

Assessment of personality functioning is an important component of any comprehensive psychological evaluation, and that remains true when working with individuals who present with anxiety disorders. This is due in part to extensive cross-axis comorbidity within the current diagnostic system-namely, the implications comorbidity holds for case conceptualization and the deleterious impact it tends to have on disorder course and treatment outcome. Individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders often present with additional symptomatology, including personality disorders (PDs; Bienvenu & Stein, 2003). 1 In fact, relations between anxiety and personality constitute a vast area; some of this content is addressed elsewhere in this Handbook. For example, use of the MMPI and projective techniques to assess personality and anxiety, objective personality measures to assess anxiety, and assessment of personality and anxiety in children and adolescents are addressed separately. That coverage allows the current chapter to focus on assessment and diagnosis of PDs in adult anxiety clients. To accomplish this in light of evolving conceptualizations of personality pathology, this chapter begins by considering the nature of personality and PDs and transitions to their association with and impact on individuals with anxiety disorders, reviews the DSM-5 proposed model for diagnosing PDs, and concludes by noting several PD assessment instruments.