Dependent Personality Disorder Treatment

Can dependent personality disorder appear in young children?

Dependent personality disorder is one of the many personality disorders that affect individuals. This disorder causes individuals to feel the need to be cared for by others. They usually display behaviors of submissiveness and clinginess towards the individuals they fear being separated from. People with this disorder are often passive, nonassertive and docile. They are self-sacrificing, wanting to please others and continually need the approval of others. They fear disagreeing with others because of this and are easily taken advantage of. With these behaviors, they clearly relay the message that someone other than themselves should take responsibility for certain areas of their lives. These feelings often express themselves with behaviors of helplessness that can include the simplest of tasks. Individuals with this disorder typically have low confidence in themselves and feel they are not intelligent or capable.

It is believed that the cause of dependent personality disorder is due to the intrusive and over-involvement that occurs from primary caretakers. These caretakers may show signs of their own dependence on the child in order to meet their own needs. They may also express rewarding behaviors to the child for being loyal, but then reject the child if they show signs of independence. When families have this disorder, they typically are controlling, without expressing emotions. Individuals who suffer from this disorder often have been humiliated socially by caretakers during their years of development and are left feeling incapable of taking on new responsibilities.

Because children and adolescents are naturally dependent on their caregivers, they should never be diagnosed with this disorder. This also includes cultures where people are raised to behave in timid and docile manners. For proper diagnosis of this disorder, there are eight certain diagnostic criteria that must be identified. These include difficulty making decisions, needing others to take responsibility for them, difficulty disagreeing with others, difficulty doing things on their own, feelings of helplessness when they are alone, going to excessive lengths to please others, seeking a new relationship quickly if one ends and preoccupation of being abandoned. Diagnosing of dependent personality treatment disorder includes five or more of these symptoms as well as onset in early adulthood.

Dependent personality treatment disorder involves psychotherapy to help the individual increase their sense of autonomy and help them to function independently. Therapies at a dependent personality disorder treatment clinic include cognitive-behavior, phychodynamically oriented therapy, interpersonal therapy, family therapy, group therapy and medications to treat depression and anxiety symptoms associated with this disorder. With psychotherapy using these forms of therapy at a dependent personality disorder treatment clinic, outcomes are good and most individuals do learn to become independent and live productive lives.