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Assessment and Management of Personality Disorders

TABLE 7
Cluster C Personality Disorders: Manifestations and Management Strategies

PROMINENT
PROBLEMATIC
PERSONALITY FEATURES EXPERIENCE
BEHAVIORS IN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
DISORDER OF OF ILLNESS
MEDICAL SETTING
DISORDER

Avoidant Social Heightened Withholds Provide reassurance, validate

inhibition due sense of information, avoids concerns, encourage reporting
to fears of inadequacy, questioning or of symptoms and concerns.
rejection or low self- disagreeing with
humiliation esteem physician

Dependent Excessive Fear of Urgent demands for Provide reassurance,

need to be abandonment, attention, schedule regular check-ups,
taken care of, helplessness prolongation of set realistic limits on
submissive illness behavior to availability, enlist others to
and clinging obtain attention and support patient, avoid rejection
behavior care of patient.

Obsessive- Preoccupation Fear of losing Fear of relinquishing Complete thorough history

compulsive with control of control, excessive and examinations, provide
orderliness, bodily questioning and thorough explanations, do not
perfection, functions and attention to details, overemphasize uncertainty,
control emotions anger about encourage patient
disruption of participation in treatment.
routines

Adapted with permission from Feder A, Robbins SW, Ostermeyer B. Personality disorders. In: Feldman MD,
Christensen JF. Behavioral medicine in primary care. 2d ed. New York: Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill Medical,
2003:231–52.

Copyright © 2004 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

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