Assessment of personality disorder

Historically, health professions have not always agreed on how best to conceptualise, categorise and define personality disorders. Although there are still many divergent views, there has been an increased consensus following the publication of definitions of personality disorder in ICD–10 (World Health Organization 1992) and DSM–IV (American Psychiatric Association 1994). In 2003 the Department of Health, in conjunction with the National Institute for Mental Health in England, produced Personality Disorder: No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion (National Institute for Mental Health in England 2003). This document outlined the government’s plan for the provision of mental health services (both general and forensic) for people with a diagnosis of personality disorder, and emphasised the importance of practitioners having skills in identifying and assessing personality disorder in order to appropriately treat a person’s difficulties.