How to Treat Schizoid Personality Disorder

A schizoid personality disorder causes an individual to have no interest in developing any type of interpersonal relationships with others, leading to a solitary and potentially unproductive life. Read on to learn how implementing various types of psychotherapy, group therapy and self-help programs can effectively treat a schizoid personality disorder.

Things You'll Need

• Psychiatrist or psychologist

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Instructions

• 1

  Determine if the symptoms of a schizoid personality are present. These may include a feeling of coldness or emotional detachment from others, delusions based upon a fantasy or "parallel" life, having everyday routines that seldom include contact with other people and exhibiting traits such as excessive unsociability, quietness, shyness and nervousness around others. People suffering from this disorder also tend to live alone, and they often avoid leaving their homes.

• 2

  Obtain a proper diagnosis from a qualified mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, in order to confirm the existence of a schizoid personality disorder. During the diagnostic process, it will be important to differentiate the features of this personality disorder from a much more serious condition such as schizophrenia or other mood-altering psychoses.

• 3

  Treat a schizoid personality disorder through the use of individualized psychotherapy, which will be the best way to expose the underlying causes of the disorder. Note that an important balance will need to be struck between taking the time to develop the trust needed to treat an individual with this disorder, and having the individual quickly lose interest in the therapy because results are not achieved quickly enough.

• 4

  Consider group therapy as an effective way to treat a schizoid personality disorder. This allows the individual to gradually start interacting with others and develop interpersonal relationships. Care must be taken, however, to avoid having their thoughts and reasoning reinforced by others in the group who may have similar types of thoughts.

• 5

  Use various types of self-help programs, such as support groups to treat the individual experiencing the disorder. This will help them feel more independent from the more rigid supervision and attention of individualized psychotherapy or group therapy. Note that effective supervision is still the key to keeping the discussions on track and away from old patterns of behavior.