Treatment for Dependent Personality Disorder (continued)
Medications
As with all personality disorders, medication should only be prescribed for specific problems suffered by the patient. Sedative drug abuse and overdose is common in this population and should be prescribed with additional caution. Anti-anxiety agents and antidepressants should be prescribed only when there is a clear Axis I diagnosis in conjunction with the personality disorder. Physicians should prevent over prescribing to someone with this disorder, because they will probably end up complaining about being anxious in social situations or feel of disconnected with their feelings. In this way, it is clear that their anxiety is related to the medication and this might even affect the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
Self-help
As with all personality disorders, medication should only be prescribed for specific problems suffered by the patient. Sedative drug abuse and overdose is common in this population and should be prescribed with additional caution. Anti-anxiety agents and antidepressants should be prescribed only when there is a clear Axis I diagnosis in conjunction with the personality disorder. Physicians should prevent over prescribing to someone with this disorder, because they will probably end up complaining about being anxious in social situations or feel of disconnected with their feelings. In this way, it is clear that their anxiety is related to the medication and this might even affect the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
