How to write a personality disorder treatment plan

Using a multi-modal approach is often the most effective when treating personality disorders. Combining therapy, support, medication, and lifestyle strategies ensures a holistic plan that meets the complex emotional, behavioral, and cognitive needs of each client.

Talk therapy

Talk therapy is a core component of treatment, helping clients navigate emotional intensity and behavioral patterns. Modalities such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and schema therapy provide structured frameworks to build coping skills, challenge maladaptive beliefs, and support healthier relationships.

Psychiatric care

Provided by psychiatrists or psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatric therapy goes beyond symptom evaluation. It includes ongoing assessment, medication management, and collaboration with therapists. Although there are no medications designed specifically for personality disorders, psychiatric medications can be useful in targeting co-occurring symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or impulsivity. Careful prescribing and ongoing monitoring are essential, but medications are used to support, not replace, ongoing psychotherapy. This approach helps optimize functioning, stabilize mood, and complement psychotherapeutic interventions for a more comprehensive care plan.

Support groups

Support groups offer a structured space for clients to connect with others facing similar challenges, which in turn builds community and reduces isolation. These groups reinforce skills learned in therapy, like practicing clear communication in a safe setting before using it with friends, family, and coworkers. 

Support groups also provide real-world coping strategies such as boundary setting practices, managing conflict, and naming, understanding, and navigating triggers in daily life. Creating a space where practicing emotional validation is encouraged helps clients feel understood, supported, and more confident in applying what they’ve learned in therapy into their reality.

Coping strategies

Simple lifestyle modifications and coping strategies play a key role in managing personality disorders. Consistent exercise, balanced nutrition, and sufficient sleep help stabilize mood and energy. Mindfulness practices like yoga, meditation, or journaling, as well as stress management techniques like breathing exercises and the “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique” (5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch/feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste), are powerful coping strategies in supporting emotional regulation.

Psychoeducation

Utilizing appropriate psychoeducation equips clients with knowledge about their diagnosis, treatment options, and coping tools. By learning how to recognize triggers and understand how symptoms show up in their daily life, clients gain insight, agency, and a sense of control. 

Psychoeducation can be delivered in many ways, like in these books: 

• Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. T. Mason and Randi Kreger
• The Handbook of Personality Disorders: Theory and Research by Oliver P. John
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

Websites like Psychology Today, and podcasts that explore mental health topics (like Unlocking Us with Brene Brown and the Mental Illness Happy Hour with Paul Gilmartin) also provide valuable psychoeducation. These resources educate clients, as well as their family members and partners, and encourage them to understand the benefits of building self-awareness, reduce negative self-talk, and empower them to take an active role in their treatment, growth, and recovery.

Crisis and relapse prevention planning

Crisis and relapse prevention planning is a vital element of treatment. By identifying triggers, building practical coping strategies, and outlining clear steps for high-risk situations, clients feel more prepared and supported. Crisis and safety plans should always include calling 911 in an emergency, along with having emergency contacts and additional crisis lines (988) and resources listed for quick accessibility.

Family and systems involvement

Involving family and support systems can have a significant positive impact on treatment outcomes. When caregivers and loved ones are engaged in therapy, they gain insight into the disorder, learn healthier ways to set boundaries, communicate clearly with support and consistency, and recognize triggers in themselves and their loved one. 

Trauma/PTSD-informed care

Because trauma often underlies or worsens personality disorder symptoms, screening for PTSD is essential. When trauma is present, adapting treatment to include evidence-based approaches like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps clients process traumatic experiences and supports clients as they process these experiences and move towards long-term treatment goals.