Exam | SWTP

A social worker has started to treat a woman who has been diagnosed with dependent personality disorder. The woman reports a variety of failed relationships. She acknowledges that she often makes unhealthy choices in the kinds of partners that she picks. When establishing a therapeutic relationship with the client, what sort of information should the social worker keep in mind?

People with dependent personality disorder often want to please their providers, so they may appear cooperative and compliant on the surface. They are likely to seek frequent reassurance and may be in danger of becoming dependent on the social worker to meet their need for approval and attention. When developing a therapeutic relationship, it is important to set healthy boundaries and keep in mind that the client may feel a strong desire to gain positive reinforcement.

The client's dramatic presentation and desire to be the center of attention may interfere with developing the therapeutic relationship.

A dramatic presentation is more characteristic of histrionic personality disorder than dependent personality disorder.

The client may be superficially compliant with treatment to try and gain approval but may struggle to make lasting change.

Clients with dependent personality disorder typically need approval and reassurance, so they often try to appear cooperative to please the social worker.

Establishing rapport will be difficult and the client is likely to drop out of treatment early.

People with dependent personality are often easy to establish a rapport with as they tend to try to please the social worker. They are less likely to drop out of treatment than people with other disorders.

The client is likely to have difficulty expressing her emotions and most likely lacks basic social skills.

People with dependent personality disorder do not necessarily lack social skills nor do they lack the ability to express basic emotions. This is more typical of schizoid personality disorder.

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