Histrionic Personality Disorder

When is it time to get help?

People with histrionic personality disorder are usually very sociable and outgoing and may not seem to be under stress from this disorder, but if you are someone experiencing these symptoms, you know how tiring it can be to always have to be “on”, to be constantly strategizing how to be the centre of attention, and how lonely it can be when you notice that most of your relationships are superficial or that people avoid you. If you’re experiencing this or you have symptoms that you cannot control, then it’s time to seek help.

Histrionic personality disorder treatment methods

This personality disorder can be treated with psychotherapy and other means. Treatment methods that may be effective in treating histrionic personality disorder include:

• Behavioural therapy tends to view human beings and behaviour with the assumption that humans are a product of their sociocultural conditioning and environment, looking at the current problems and the factors influencing them and emphasizes behaviour changes more than the underlying unconscious processes.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to treatment that focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviour and how they perceive themselves.
• Emotionally focused therapy is based on observations and experience. It looks at emotions and emotional intelligence, which helps support stronger and more secure relationships by helping better understand how our actions impact others, and how our emotions drive our interaction.
• Person centered therapy differs from more traditional therapeutic approaches in the belief that, while the therapist has expertise in many areas, the client is the expert on themselves and their lived experiences. People are essentially trustworthy and have a vast potential for understanding themselves while also being able to ultimately resolve their own problems when guided properly.
• Mindfulness therapy is an approach to treatment that focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviour and how they perceive themselves, others, and the world. The ability to be in the moment, to acknowledge and regulate your emotions helps you to break free from negative thought patterns.
• Solution focused therapy views people as inherently strong and resilient, and capable of creating change and discovering solutions to their everyday problem.
• Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a treatment method that is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but emphasizes building skills to manage stress, mental health issues, and the psycho-social aspects of relationship building.

To choose the right combination of treatments, an assessment will first be done, and together with your therapist, you’ll find the treatment method that best suits your unique personality and circumstances.