ABSTRACT
The Histrionic Personality Disorder can be recognized by the following descriptors and characteristics: styles vs. disorders, triggering event, behavioral styles, interpersonal styles, cognitive styles, affective styles, attachment style, and optimal criterion. The preoccupied attachment dimension is characterized by a sense of personal unworthiness and a positive evaluation of others. This chapter focuses on diagnosis, psychological assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment interventions. It begins with background information on the disorder as well as a DSM-5 description and a prototypic description of this disorder. Gabbard (1990) argues that the Histrionic Personality Disorder needs to be distinguished from the Hysterical Personality Disorder. The Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II), the Rorschach Psycho-diagnostic Test, and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) can be useful in diagnosing the Histrionic Personality Disorder as well as the Histrionic Personality Style or trait. The differential diagnosis of the Histrionic Personality Disorder includes the Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the Dependent Personality Disorder.
