Demystifying Personality Disorders: Clinical Skills for Working with Drama and Manipulation – Gregory W. Lester

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Watch clinical psychologists and personality disorder experts Drs. Gregory Lester and Alan Godwin for this compelling seminar that offers practical, must-know interventions for not only treating these challenging clients but also those who are left in their toxic wake.

Dr. Lester begins with a deeper dive into clinical assessment of personality disorders as well as the most common challenges when working with this subset of clients. He’ll cover:

• The core of the personality disorder: an ever-changing agenda
• Why this client population functions the way it does
• How to diagnose differentially among the most common, heavily nuanced personality disorders
• Personality Disorder-Trait Specified (PD-TS) and other general criteria for personality disorders
• Meaningful navigation of transference and countertransference issues
• Why therapeutic boundaries may look different with these clients
• How to identify (often subtle) warning signs of manipulation – and what to do!
• And much more!

Dr. Godwin takes it from here, focusing on how to effectively work with both clients with personality disorders and those who (repeatedly?) find themselves in their emotional crosshairs. Known for his straightforward style and practical interventions, Dr. Godwin masterfully covers:

• Psychoeducation for clients to begin recognizing manipulative behavior and patterns in relationships
• How to teach assertive communication, healthy boundaries, and limit setting
• Strategies for maximizing therapeutic gains with clients who are manipulative
• The internal peace of adopting a “non-participation” approach to drama and sidebars in session
• 5 must-know signs your client is manipulating you
• Strategies for addressing common therapy-interfering behaviors
• And more!

Don’t miss this chance to learn from top-rated presenters in their field.

1. Differentiate among the various clinical personality disorder DSM categories.
2. Evaluate how transference and countertransference occurs in therapy sessions with personality disorder clients.
3. Clinically assess for the nature of “drama” that personality disorder diagnosed clients create.
4. Determine how this challenging client population can exploit the vulnerabilities of others.
5. Demonstrate two key strategies of “drama non-participation” that clinicians can teach their clients who are impacted by the personality disorder diagnosed partner/family member.
6. Demonstrate how re-defining the therapeutic approach can improve treatment outcomes.

Part I – Gregory W. Lester, Ph.D.
The Challenge of Personality Disorder

• The core of the personality disorder: the unchanging agenda
• The DSM-5® personality disorders and their agendas:
  • Schizotypal
  • Narcissistic
  • Antisocial (and Psychopaths!)
  • Borderline
  • Avoidant
  • Obsessive-Compulsive
  • Trait Specified (PDTS) What is that?
  • General criteria for personality disorders
  • Levels of personality functioning
  • Personality trait domains

Overcome Common Clinician Struggles

• Transference & countertransference
• What does transference and countertransference look like in our work?
• Boundary crossings and boundary violations
• How to tell when you are headed for disaster and how to intervene

Part II – Alan Godwin, Psy.D.
Techniques to Counter Manipulation & Empower Victims to Become Survivors

• Recognize the manipulation process
• Re-structure cognitive distortions
• Create healthy boundaries and set limits
• Respond instead of react
• Make direct requests, expect direct responses
• Judge actions, not intentions
• Explore their own vulnerabilities and identify risk factors
• Acknowledge relational limitations
• Resources for ongoing support

Maximize Therapeutic Gains with a Manipulative Client

• Accurately assess your client’s personality characteristics
• Re-define your therapeutic approach
• 5 signs your client is manipulating you
• Techniques to manage thinking errors and manipulative tactics

Strategies for Common Therapyinterfering Behaviors

• Manage countertransference
• Handle boundary violations
• Stay calm when your buttons are pushed – and carry on!