Teen Personality Disorder Treatment at Muir Wood
Teen personality disorder treatment at Muir Wood is geared to provide therapeutic solutions, tools and resources young people need to cope, manage, and succeed in life. Our in-depth and individualized analysis combined with our personalized treatments for teens ensure that every patient at our campuses receives the utmost attention and therapy needed to live a full and satisfying life.
At Muir Wood, we understand that teenage personality disorders can be overwhelming and extremely frustrating. That is why we provide a nurturing, supportive environment coupled with innovative and comprehensive therapies. Our committed and professional medical staff have the experience and compassion to facilitate genuine growth and improvement if your loved one is struggling with teen personality disorder.
Why Choose Muir Wood’s Teenage Treatment Center For Personality Disorders
Muir Wood is far more than a treatment center for personality disorder. We are a fully-equipped, fully staffed campus nestled in the heart of Sonoma. Our teens experience the natural beauty of the area, within a supportive, nurturing and life-affirming environment. Treatments are based on individual evaluations so your teen receives tailored care. Moreover, we provide our teens with a myriad of different therapies, activities, and amenities so that their stay is both recouperative and fundamental for long-term and successful behavioral management.
At Muir Wood, we care and we believe that the youth of today hold the key to the future. We facilitate their success by providing the personalized, award-winning adolescent personality disorder treatment they need to be the brilliant people they are today and blossom into the amazing adults they are meant to be in the future.
At What Age Do Personality Disorders Usually Develop?
According to teen treatment statistics, around 6% of adults in the US struggle with some type of personality disorder. Because teenager’s personalities are still developing, it’s often difficult to diagnose personality disorders in teens. The troubling fact is that most personality disorders begin to develop during adolescence, but in most cases, the condition isn’t diagnosed until the age of 18 or older due to the fact that teens are still evolving and growing both chemically (as in hormones), physically, and emotionally.
How To Know If Your Teen Has a Personality Disorder
As mentioned, identifying teenage personality disorders can be difficult because their brains and bodies are still developing. According to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, pinpointing personality disorders in teens is done in the same way for adults. Nevertheless, there are some defining differences between teens and adults when determining if he or she is living with a personality disorder. Erratic behavior, unexplained moodiness, and extreme shifts in attitude are just some clues as to emotional disharmony that could hint to personality disorders in teenagers.
It’s important to note that all teenagers are different. Therefore, knowing your teen has a personality disorder or not can be very challenging to confirm. That is why it’s best to seek help from a mental health professional who can administer a teenage personality disorder test, is experienced in mental evaluations, and is best qualified to provide a diagnosis of this condition in teens.
Signs of a Personality Disorder In Teenagers
As mentioned, nailing a solid diagnosis of adolescent personality disorder or whether teenage borderline personality disorder treatment is needed can be a delicate process for an untrained individual. Nevertheless, as a parent or guardian, you likely know your teen better than anyone. As such, here are a few (not all) behaviors or symptoms recognizable when identifying personality disorders in teenagers:
- Taking unusual risks or acting impulsively
- Distortions in perception or convoluted thinking
- Ending long-term relationships or difficulty keeping relationships
- Depression, sullenness, mood swings, paranoia, excessive anger
- Hypersensitivity to rejection or fears of being abandoned
- Difficulties with self-expression or problems in emotional responses
- Harming oneself either through substance abuse or self-mutilation
- Struggling with self-esteem, identity, or sense of self
- Issues with impulse control
- Becoming withdrawn, isolated, unwilling to socialize
Again, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to acknowledge that personality disorders in teenagers manifest in an array of different actions and behaviors. Therefore, please consult with a mental health professional as you attempt to get to the root of your teen’s mental wellbeing.
Causes and Risk Factors for a Teenage Personality Disorder
Teen personality disorder treatment can be a baffling proposition when it comes to determining the root causes. Although this mental health condition often develops in the teenage years or early adulthood, the causes are often unclear without diagnostic help from a mental health professional. Nevertheless, experts agree that both environment and genetics are largely responsible for the manifestation of personality disorders in teens. Additionally, a traumatic life event or ongoing unhealthy situation may be a factor in developing a teenage personality disorder.
Some points to consider in terms of causes and risk factors for teen personality disorders may include (but are not limited to):
- Alterations or imbalances in biological chemistry or brain structure
- Family genetics, or a family history of mental illness and/or personality disorders
- Untenable childhood conditions (unstable or abusive environment or neglect during childhood development)
- A professional diagnosis of personality disorder from a mental health expert
Types of Teenage Personality Disorders
There are 10 different types of personality disorders that could potentially develop within teens. According to DSM-5 classification, these personality disorders are grouped in clusters, based on shared traits of each condition. Here are the three clusters or categories of personality disorders.
Cluster A:
This grouping includes schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal, and paranoid personality disorder. The commonalities each of these conditions share include inappropriate emotional reactions, social awkwardness, distorted or erratic thinking, and paranoia.
Cluster B:
Mental health conditions in this category include antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. Characteristics shared among these disorders include unpredictability, impulse control, dramatic behavior, inexplicable mood swings, and/or excessive emotionality.
Cluster C:
This grouping includes avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. These all share tendencies such as hyper nervousness, extreme anxiety, fearfulness, avoidance or intense shyness in social settings.
It’s important to note that the characteristics described in each of the above clusters are generalized. There are far more traits and complex details that a teenage personality disorder test administered by a mental health professional may reveal in order to identify or diagnose a potential condition.
Bipolar Disorder and Addiction
The Ups and Downs of Co-Occurring Illnesses
Bipolar disorder is treatable, but without help, those who have this disease are at a greater risk of developing substance abuse and addiction issues. This is when the teen medical aspects of addiction and recovery come into play, and an emphasis on specialized treatment needs to be at the forefront of rehabilitation.
Adolescents can be moody and changeable, and predicting how they might feel or react in any given moment can be difficult, if not impossible. Racing hormones, a growing body and changing circumstances can all conspire to make a teen’s life hard, and they may bow to the pressure and express their distress through their personalities. Parents of teens might learn to go with the flow, riding out the waves of emotions coming from their teens without overtly reacting or attempting to change the tide. It makes life easier, and the home less stressful, to be sure. There are times, however, when shifts in personality are due to a sinister cause, and ignoring those causes could lead to trouble down the line.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by major shifts in personality, and according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), at least half of all cases of this disorder begin before the person reaches age 25. It’s a treatable disorder, but without help, those who have bipolar disorder are at a greater risk of developing substance abuse and addiction issues. This article will help parents to understand how the disorder works, and how they can identify the problem in the behaviors their teens display.
Shifts in Mood
A classic case of bipolar disorder involves shifts between two very different emotional states: one active and busy (mania) and the other low and slow (depression). The feelings that take hold during an episode are strong and intense, and they can cause the teen to behave in ways that seem bizarre or uncharacteristic. In a classic presentation, the episodes last for a week or two, and the symptoms persist every day for most of the day. Teens seem to be “stuck” in one particular mode, until the cycle shifts and another extreme mood takes over.
During a manic episode, a teen might:
- Seem silly, happy or goofy
- Talk quickly, jumping from topic to topic
- Develop insomnia
- Become angry or irritable
- Take risks
During a depressed episode, a teen might:
- Seem low and sad
- Develop physical illnesses, including stomach and head pain
- Sleep long hours
- Ask to stay home from school in order to sleep
- Seem uninterested in activities the teen once enjoyed
- Talk about death or suicide
Teens can also develop mixed episodes in which they have some parts of both types of mental health issues. They might seem sad yet high in energy, for example, or they might be uninterested in activities yet discuss all topics at a rapid pace. According to NIMH, children with bipolar disorder have more mixed episodes like this than adults with the illness do.
Bipolar disorder can come in many different forms, and teens might not have symptoms that fit the “classic”‘ presentation of the disease. In order to help accurately diagnose those with the illness and provide them with the proper type of care, experts tend to split bipolar disorder into four categories or levels, as follows:
- Bipolar I disorder, in which manic episodes last for seven days or more, followed by depression that lasts at least two weeks. The symptoms are so severe here that the person often needs care in a hospital.
- Bipolar II disorder, in which depression changes places with mania on a regular basis, but there are no full-blown mania episodes.
- Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified, in which people have symptoms of the illness, but the symptoms might not be strong enough or last long enough to merit a full diagnosis of the disorder.
- Cyclothymic disorder, in which people have symptoms of mania shifting with mild depression.
The Link to Substance Abuse and Addiction
Living with bipolar disorder can be incredibly difficult, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance suggests that most people spend 10 years with the illness before they’re provided with the proper diagnosis. This means that people may spend years looking for their own solutions to the problems they face, and for some, this means leaning on substance abuse and addiction.
Drugs of abuse can seem like a reasonable solution to a bipolar issue, as they can calm the hyperactivity that comes during a manic episode. Sedating drugs can make the mind work at a slower pace, and this might be just what a person needs when mania seems to take hold. During a manic episode, however, teens have very little impulse control, and they’re more likely to take risks with their health and well-being. A teen like this might very well overindulge in drugs and alcohol, causing damage in the brain that could lead to addiction down the line. The Mayo Clinic reports that about half of all people who have bipolar disorder also abuse alcohol, and many more abuse drugs. It’s clear that this is a link that’s much too strong to be ignored.
Substance abuse can bump a teen from one cycle to the next, making shifts more dramatic and more damaging. Addiction can also deepen and worsen feelings of depression, making teens feel yet more hopeless and lost. As addiction takes hold, the brain becomes less and less capable of making the chemicals used to signal pleasure, so teens who abuse drugs may be physically unable to experience joy.
Spotting addiction in teens can be somewhat difficult, as teens can be secretive when they know their actions are likely to cause alarm. There are some signs, however, that could indicate that a teen has a substance abuse or addiction issue, including:
- Frequent requests for money, or stealing money
- Missing liquor or prescription medications from the home
- Sudden interest in air fresheners or incense
- Reduced attention to grooming or hygiene
- Increased demands for privacy
- Getting Better
Medication is often part of the treatment protocol for teens with bipolar disorder. Medications can help to soothe the cycling that’s typical in bipolar disorder, and the chemical imbalances caused by bipolar disorder can often be amended with the proper type of drugs given at the appropriate dosage level. It might take a process of trial and error, however, in order to find the right medication program. Some medications might not work in the teen, while others might cause side effects that teens dislike.
Therapy can help teens learn how to spot the symptoms of a manic or depressed episode, while providing them with skills they can use to manage the shifts without leaning on addictive drugs. Therapy might also help teens learn how to explain their disorder to other people, and get along with the people they love even when they’re not feeling well. It’s a method used to build awareness and bring a teen a sense of control, and it can be quite helpful in the fight against bipolar disorder.
Teens might also be encouraged to develop healthy habits that could stem a recurrence of bipolar disorder. Good options include eating well, developing an appropriate sleep-wake cycle and taking medications every day. Teens might even learn to journal about their thoughts and symptoms, so they can communicate clearly with their doctors about the effectiveness of the treatments they’re receiving.
Bipolar disorder can’t be cured, so teens who have the disorder will need to learn how to manage the disease and stay on top of it for the rest of their lives. Through therapy, teens can develop these skills, and this might help them to keep an addiction issue well under control for good.
Reaching Out
According to the American Psychiatric Association, 80 to 90 percent of those with bipolar disorder have a relative with either depression or bipolar disorder. As this statistic makes clear, it’s quite possible that parents are able to spot symptoms of bipolar disorder because they either have the illness, or they know someone else who does. As a result, they’re in an excellent position to help their teens get the help they’ll need in order to get better.
Some teens with bipolar disorder respond with happiness or relief when they’re approached by their parents.
When they understand that their symptoms are due to a disorder that can be effectively treated, they might feel a sense of hope that’s been missing in the days and weeks prior. There are some teens, however, who become angry when they’re approached. They might not feel as though they have a disorder at all, for example, or they might not want to admit that they have a problem that needs treatment, not time, in order to resolve.
If a quick one-on-one talk about the nature of bipolar disorder isn’t helpful, teens might need a formal intervention. Here, the family holds a talk with the help of a licensed professional, and the group works together to help the teen see the behavioral changes that have taken place. Talks like this are just slightly more formal than a typical parent/child chat, and they might be able to help parents really reach in and make a difference.
At Muir Wood, we know that even thinking about bipolar disorder or addiction in your teenager can be distressing, but we’d like to give you hope. Our program can help your child learn how to manage their condition, and we can help you to learn how to provide them with an environment that can foster continuing growth and education. We can even provide your family with intensive aftercare programs, ensuring that you have the support you’ll need when formal treatment ends. Please call us to find out more.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Some teens develop BPD, and those who do not are at high risk for substance abuse and/or addiction, along with serious complications.
What BPD Looks Like in a Teenager
Borderline personality disorder in teens will look differently from one to another. In general terms, BPD may manifest in behavioral anomalies such as excessive worry and/or anxiety, lack of empathy for others, self-harm, distorted self-image, extreme or inappropriate emotional responses, or inexplicable mood swings. Remember that these are basic behavioral observations. In order to determine if treatment for borderline personality disorder in youth is required, an assessment should be done by a mental health professional. Moreover, it’s crucial to get an accurate diagnosis so that treatment for borderline personality disorder in adolescence is administered comprehensively and correctly.
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder in teens is often identified when a youth exhibits extreme distrust in others. He or she may be excessively fearful when going out in public, or may feel as though everyone is conspiring against them. They may experience irrational fears in combination with intense anxiety. Teen personality disorder treatment for paranoia typically includes psychotherapy (also known as “talk therapy”) that assists the teen in recognizing the difference between reality and irrational fears.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Histrionic is a term that describes behavior that is overly dramatic, hysterical, or theatrical. Teens who struggle with histrionic personality disorder may exhibit extreme changes in mood, they may appear to be excessively dramatic as well as overreact inappropriately. Their emotional responses may seem highly disproportionate to the situation presented. In many instances, residential DBT programs for adolescents are an effective solution for young people with this particular personality disorder.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
While it’s common for teens to be somewhat self-absorbed, if expressed to the extreme, a teen might be exhibiting signs of narcissistic personality disorder. Signs of this mental disorder may include extreme arrogance or superiority complex, excessive bragging about personal accomplishments, overly manipulative behavior, lack of empathy towards others, and/or inflated sense of self. Teen personality disorder treatment for NPD should include traditional talk therapy including group therapy in order to introduce concepts such as community, social diversity, and social connection.