Diagnosis of Higher Level Personality Pathology by Using Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy

People with higher level personality disorder, are a relatively healthy subset of severe personality disorder. They show some of personality disorder’s characteristics but their problems and traits are more moderate and sub threshold of DSM-IV-TR criteria for personality disorder. Their main characteristic is inflexible and maladaptive personality traits that leads to repetitive behavior. Research goal was to diagnose people with higher level personality pathology by using short-term dynamic psychotherapy for higher level personality pathology (DPHP). Current study was a case study. Research sample, comprises from three people who had referred to Meraj consulting institute. All of them were between 20 to 30 years old and each, have been studied in 20 weekly sessions lasting for 50 minutes. Outcome analysis was done in a clinical and case study way. Results showed that diagnosing of higher level avoidant, obsessive-compulsive and depressive personality pathology is possible by using structured and descriptive assessment on the basis of Kernberg’s object relation theory. Our case study showed that diagnosis of higher level personality disorder is possible by using short-term dynamic psychotherapy for higher level personality pathology.