CBT for Cluster B: Proven Strategies for Borderline, Narcissistic, Antisocial & Histrionic Personality Disorders

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Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP Related seminars and products

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Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist in Cincinnati, Ohio, board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), runs a private psychology and consultation practice, and is the director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation. He has run hundreds of mindfulness groups and was lead clinician in the first brain scan study involving mindfulness with children and adolescents. He is also an adjunct professor in the University of Cincinnati psychology department, clinical research faculty at the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, volunteer professor of psychiatry & behavioral neurosciences at the UC College of Medicine, and a former research/psychologist contractor with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

His most recent books include ACT with Anxiety (PESI); The ACT Flip Chart (PESI); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Mindfulness Toolbox (PESI); Mindfulness: Living Through Challenges and Enriching Your Life in the Moment (Wiley-Blackwell); Building Competence in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Routledge); and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (Wiley-Blackwell).

Dr. Sears is a sixth-degree black belt in Ninjutsu, and once served as a personal protection agent for the Dalai Lama with his teacher, Stephen K. Hayes. He has studied Eastern Wisdom for over 40 years, receiving ordination in three traditions, and transmission as a Zen master.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Richard Sears maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the University of Cincinnati for Integrative Health and Wellness, Alliance Integrative Medicine, and Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. He receives compensation as a consultant and royalties as a published author. Dr. Sears receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Richard Sears is a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, a diplomate of the American board of Professional Psychology, and a fellow with the Academy of the American Board of Clinical Psychology. He is a peer reviewer for Mindfulness and a book reviewer for John Wiley & Sons, Inc, and Routledge. He is the director of Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation.

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Objectives

1. Differentiate diagnostically between the four Cluster B personality disorders to accurately inform the treatment planning process.
2. Manage maladaptive, self-sabotage, manipulation, and negative attention seeking behaviors in clients to improve client level of functioning.
3. Utilize treatment interventions based in cognitive approaches, including ABC records, challenging distortions, and Socratic dialogue for clients diagnosed with personality disorders.
4. Employ mindfulness-based interventions to increase client’s psychological flexibility and decrease emotional intensity.
5. Evaluate and address potential clinical issues including crisis management, countertransference, boundary setting, and self-care to improve clinical outcomes.
6. Distinguish three strategies to improve client engagement and stay present in session.

Outline

• Key features, diagnostic criteria, and differential diagnosis considerations
  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Narcissistic Personality Disorder
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder
  • Histrionic Personality Disorder
• Top indicators of PD not in the DSM-5®
• 5 things you probably never knew about Cluster B personality disorders
• Unique treatment considerations

• How to shift behaviors that have been conditioned over a lifetime
• Disrupting reinforcement
• 5 things you may be doing that inadvertently reinforce maladaptive behavior and what to do instead
• Practical application of classical and operant conditioning concepts
• Roots of behavioral therapy and why it matters in treatment
  • Psychoeducation: Increase clients’ insight into how their behavior is reinforced
  • Exposure techniques: Build distress tolerance and momentum toward healthier choices
  • Chain analysis: Decrease hopelessness, improve awareness, and identify precipitating factors and choice points
• Case study – Sam, The Man Who Blames Everyone Else

• Interventions to overcome the experience of negative emotion and negative beliefs about treatment
• Strategies to adapt cognitive techniques for Cluster B personality disorders
  • ABC records
  • Challenging Beliefs Worksheets
  • Socratic dialogue
  • Common cognitive distortions
• Why challenging your client’s thoughts can make things worse and what to do instead
• Case study – Martha, The Woman Who Confused her Thoughts and Memories with Reality

• Cognitive and behavioral mechanisms
  • Increase psychological flexibility
  • Decrease emotional intensity
  • Focus on the bigger picture
• Mistakes with mindfulness – inadvertently encouraging avoidance
• How to adapt mindfulness and acceptance techniques for Cluster B
  • Cognitive defusion: Stepping back from thoughts
  • Acceptance: Letting go of control
  • Mindfulness: Fostering the ability to stay present
  • Observing the self: Developing a bigger sense of who you are
  • Identifying values: Finding the “why”
  • Taking committed action
• Case study – Arthur, The Loving, Self-Centered Father

• Crisis management
  • Suicidal ideation/gestures, self-injury
  • Create a clear plan to keep clients safe and avoid personal liability
• What to avoid – documentation considerations and more
• 5 warning signs you need to check your boundaries
• Minimize boundary violations and avoid false reporting to licensure board
• Strategies to recognize and address countertransference
• Top 3 tips for staying present in session
  • Balance boundaries with compassion
  • Model presence with distress, not joining the emotional chaos
  • Internal messages – Not getting sucked in
• Exercise: People that bother me

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Case Managers
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals