Impoverished Dialogical Relationship Patterns In Paranoid Personality Disorder

In the opinion of many experts, the self is made up of numerous different, independent facets interacting with each other in an ongoing inner dialogue. The meaning of events depends on the form this dialogue takes. The hypothesis we discuss in this article is that patients suffering from paranoid personality disorder (PPD) present impoverished dialogical relationship patterns. By this we mean that: a) The characters operating on their mental stage are few and repetitive. The character identified as self is insufficient-inadequate or diffident-mistrusting-hostile. The characters embodied by other persons are hostile, humiliating, and threatening, b) The inner dialogue the characters set up is stereotyped and always has the same outcome—the inadequate part of self feels under attack by a hostile other. This pattern has an influence on patients’ behaviour and the course of psychotherapy.

Our discussion of this hypothesis will be based on an analysis of extracts from diaries written by a patient with PPD during therapy. We shall give a number of strategies as to how a therapist may avoid patient drop-outs and provide effective treatment.