The Irrational Beliefs and Thoughts of Personality Disorders

From Beck’s perspective, personality disorders are characterized by rigid thought patterns and behavioral patterns that negatively influence the subject’s life. Ellis mentions that these disorders are caused by irrational beliefs. Another theory by Jeffrey Young indicates that personality disorders are caused by dysfunctional schemas and behavioral patterns that tend to perpetuate cognitive and behavioral avoidance.

For his part, Millon contributes with a classification of these disorders which help us better understand their complexity and the need for a multidisciplinary approach both for their understanding and for therapeutic intervention.

Personality and irrational beliefs and thoughts

The different types of personality disorders motivated many researchers to create therapeutic models seeking a solution for this chronic and severe problem and this is how the therapeutic approach emerged through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Schema-Focused Therapy, the latter being characterized by being an innovative and integrative model and finally we have Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. There are other therapy models that are not widely publicized and do not have many studies to support them.

Personality is a complex pattern of psychological characteristics that are rooted in the subject and that are expressed automatically. It is important to mention that there are different theories and concepts in relation to personality, from psychological, anthropological, philosophical definitions or even theories from medicine.

Ellis states that irrational beliefs are deep unrealistic statements that one makes oneself and where innate and learned aspects of each person influence. Irrational thoughts are those thoughts that do not conform to reality and therefore go against evidence and logic. These are generally expressed in the form of demands or needs such as: I need, I should, you have to… and they are maintained in an absolutist way, which is why they generate dysfunctional emotions and behaviors.

What are the types of personality disorders and their respective irrational beliefs and thoughts?

The most frequent irrational beliefs and thoughts are the following:

What are the therapeutic models for personality disorders?

Particularly noteworthy are:

Cognitive behavioral therapy and schema therapy are indicated for use in different types of personality disorders and are effective. And there are studies that support its effectiveness and for that reason it is important to undergo training in both models and thinking about this I am opening online training in: 1) Cognitive behavioral therapy for the intervention of personality disorders. 2) Schema-focused therapy for the intervention of personality disorders. Those interested can find information at IPSICOLP or ITE.

In general terms, it is concluded that personality disorders are patterns of dysfunctional behaviors that negatively influence a person’s life. These in turn are classified into different types and are caused by a series of early maladaptive thoughts, beliefs and schemas. And its therapeutic intervention is multidisciplinary and the most used psychotherapeutic models are CBT and TCE and in cases of suicidal BPD, DBT.