It's time to replace the personality disorders with the interpersonal disorders.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Personality disorders (PDs) are common, severe psychopathology with significant treatment challenges.
• Current diagnostic models for PDs are problematic, lacking clear distinctions and using unsuitable frameworks.
• Treatment failures, ruptures, and discontinuations are frequent in PD interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a reconceptualization of personality disorders.
• To address the diagnostic and clinical challenges associated with current PD models.
• To offer a new framework for understanding and diagnosing PDs.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of existing diagnostic criteria and clinical observations.
• Reformulation of traditional PD symptoms from an interpersonal perspective.
• Theoretical proposal to reclassify PDs as interpersonal disorders.

Main Results:

• The core of PDs lies in difficulties with self and other understanding/relating.
• Interpersonal dysfunction explains characteristic social challenges and treatment issues in PDs.
• A proposed interpersonal framework offers clearer distinctions for PDs.

Conclusions:

• Recasting personality disorders as interpersonal disorders provides a clearer diagnostic model.
• This reconceptualization better explains the social and treatment difficulties inherent in PDs.
• An interpersonal perspective enhances understanding and potentially improves interventions for these conditions.