Psych CASC / OSCE · General adult psychiatry — personality disorders
Explain histrionic personality disorder and the treatment plan — CASC communication station
MRCPsych/FRANZCP-style communication station: explain HPD without stigma, outline differentials and frame-based therapy, clarify limited medication role, address self-harm seriousness, check understanding.
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Target exams
Station brief
Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the psychiatry registrar in the outpatient clinic. [1]
Candidate instructions. Explain histrionic personality disorder in plain language without stigma, clarify how it differs from bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, outline why structured talking therapy with clear boundaries is the main treatment, clarify that medication treats depression or anxiety rather than “curing personality,” take self-harm seriously, and check understanding. The examiner plays the patient. [1][2]
References3ShowHide
- [1]Bakkevig JF, Karterud S Is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, histrionic personality disorder category a valid construct? Compr Psychiatry, 2010.PMID 20728002
- [2]Blagov PS, Westen D Questioning the coherence of histrionic personality disorder: borderline and hysterical personality subtypes in adults and adolescents J Nerv Ment Dis, 2008.PMID 19008729
- [3]Babl A, Gómez Penedo JM, Berger T, et al. Change processes in psychotherapy for patients presenting with histrionic personality disorder Clin Psychol Psychother, 2023.PMID 35776063