Many patients are part of therapeutic communities, attending group meetings, joining in small-group psychotherapy, and participating in the running of the community. Experts disagree on the effectiveness of this commonly-used model, however; few studies have been able to prove its efficacy in any systematic, scientific way. In part, this is because experts disagree on how to measure the rate of effectiveness in what is often a subjective evaluation. Bruno (1993) quotes Sigmund Freud's joking answer when asked the purpose of psychoanalysis: "To replace neurotic suffering with ordinary human misery" (p. 1). Suffering is part of the normal human condition, but suffering that is brought on by individual thoughts, perceptions, beliefs, and memories can lead to psychological disorders that are treatable by traditional psychoanalysis and by other methods that continue to be developed and tried as methods of relieving unnecessary mental suffering. Some patients suffering from personality disorders may appear happy in their conditions. Although they have found ways of coping with the world around them that go against the kinds of behavior accepted by society at large, their coping mechanisms allow them to continue to live, even if their lives are bizarre and alien to the rest of the world. It is important to note, however, that most patients suffer as a result of their disorders. They would prefer to "fit in" with the "normal" world; they simply do not know how to do so. Childhood neglect may be linked to BPD. (1997, November). Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 13(11), 6-7. Fauman, M. A. (1994). Study guide to DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Treating and preventing personality disorders continues to be an inexact science. Some experts favor drug treatment, often coupled with different forms of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, or behavior modification. Martin Marlowe and Philip Sugarman (1997, July 19) no |
