Personality Disorders: Understanding the Different Types,What They Mean, and How sami Can Help
What Is a Personality Disorder?
A personality disorder is a long-term pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that significantly differ from social or cultural expectations and cause distress or difficulty functioning.
Everyone has personality traits that make them who they are. But when these traits become rigid, extreme, or inflexible, they can impact relationships, work, and emotional wellbeing.
It’s important to understand that a personality disorder is not a choice or character flaw. These patterns often develop as ways to cope with emotional pain, inconsistent attachment, or trauma earlier in life. With the right assessment and treatment, meaningful change is possible.
The Three Clusters of Personality Disorders
Personality disorders are grouped into three clusters based on common emotional and behavioural features.
Cluster A – “Odd or Eccentric”
Involves distorted thinking or social detachment:
Paranoid Personality Disorder: Deep mistrust or suspicion of others’ motives.
Schizoid Personality Disorder: Preference for solitude, limited emotional expression.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Eccentric thoughts, behaviours, or speech; discomfort in close relationships.
Cluster B – “Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic”
Marked by intense emotions, impulsivity, and relational instability:
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Fear of abandonment, emotional swings, unstable identity.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD): Need for admiration, fragile self-esteem, low empathy.
Histrionic Personality Disorder: Emotional expressiveness and strong desire for attention.
Antisocial Personality Disorder: Disregard for others’ rights, impulsivity, and lack of remorse.
Cluster C – “Anxious or Fearful”
Centres on chronic fear, perfectionism, or dependency:
Avoidant Personality Disorder: Extreme sensitivity to rejection, social inhibition.
Dependent Personality Disorder: Excessive reliance on others for reassurance or decision-making.
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD): Perfectionism and control that interfere with flexibility and wellbeing.
What It Means to Have a Personality Disorder
Living with a personality disorder can feel like being on an emotional rollercoaster.
You might:
Struggle with relationships that feel unstable or intense.
Feel chronically empty, misunderstood, or disconnected.
Experience impulsive or self-sabotaging behaviours.
Feel stuck in recurring emotional or interpersonal patterns.
These experiences are often the result of early emotional wounds or long-standing coping mechanisms that once served to protect you. Understanding your personality structure can be the first step toward change.
Personality Disorder Testing and Assessment
Because personality disorders can share features with other conditions (such as anxiety, depression, or trauma), a comprehensive psychological assessment is often the best way to gain clarity.
A psychologist can conduct standardised testing and a clinical interview to help identify patterns of thinking, emotion, and behaviour.
This process may include:
Clinical Interview: A detailed discussion about your history, relationships, and emotional patterns.
Psychometric Testing: Standardised tools such as the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2-RF), or Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV) to assess personality traits and symptom patterns.
Self-Report Questionnaires: Tools like the SCID-5-PD (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders) or PID-5 to explore specific personality traits.
Collateral Information: With your consent, input from past clinicians or family members can provide helpful context.
The goal of assessment isn’t to “label” you—it’s to understand your unique personality profile and guide an effective, personalised treatment plan.
A clear understanding of your personality structure can help:
Clarify confusing or overlapping symptoms.
Identify strengths, resilience factors, and areas for growth.
Guide therapy selection (e.g. DBT, Schema Therapy, or MBT).
Track progress over time in therapy.
How a Psychologist Can Help
Psychological therapy for personality disorders focuses on increasing emotional awareness, flexibility, and stability.
Evidence-based treatments include:
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): Teaches skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and healthy relationships.
Schema Therapy: Identifies and heals deep-rooted emotional patterns (“schemas”) formed in childhood.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Helps reframe unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.
Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT): Improves understanding of your own and others’ emotions and intentions.
Compassion-Focused and Trauma-Informed Approaches: Support shame reduction, self-acceptance, and secure attachment.
A psychologist provides a safe, non-judgmental space to explore patterns, make sense of emotions, and develop new ways of relating to yourself and others.
Recovery and Growth
Recovery doesn’t mean changing your personality—it means building insight, resilience, and emotional stability.
With consistent therapy and self-awareness, people with personality disorders can lead fulfilling, connected, and meaningful lives.
You are not your diagnosis. Understanding your patterns is simply the first step toward living more freely and authentically.
Support from Psych Sami & Co
At Psych Sami & Co, our psychologists offer comprehensive assessment and therapy for personality and trauma-related conditions.
We provide telehealth sessions Australia-wide, combining psychological testing, diagnosis, and tailored treatment planning to support long-term emotional wellbeing.
