This Training Opportunity

Assessing personality and personality problems can be a critical undertaking in family court proceedings. Therefore, it is essential that practitioners offering expert witness evaluations and testimony in this setting have a good understanding of personality, its problematic presentations and severity, and the possible links between personality problems and risk in a family context. 

In this intensive course, Dr Caroline Logan and Professor David Cooke, two experts in the field of personality problems and risk, will discuss with participants what personality is and how it can become problematic.  They will examine the nature of the personality problems people can experience and the implications of those problems for the safety and wellbeing of others. They will also review methods of assessing the nature and severity of personality difficulties in ways that will be helpful to family court proceedings and, in particular, child proceedings.

Particular attention will be paid to assessing and understanding problems arising from pathological narcissism (narcissistic personality disorder) and psychopathy in addition to borderline (or emotionally unstable) personality disorder. 

This two-day in-person training opportunity will build on participants’ existing knowledge and skills in the assessment of personality problems relevant to risk.

Day 1 will begin with a discussion about personality and how and why personality problems can become an issue in some people. The severity of personality problems will be examined in detail, and training will be provided on the Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS), which measures the severity of personality problems and is part of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorder. Relevant case studies will be used to illustrate key points and assessment practices as well as informative ways of communicating findings.

Day 2 will focus on the nature of personality problems and their link to risk in a family setting. Drawing on the material covered in Day 1, the discussion today will focus on the nature of pathological narcissism – or narcissistic personality disorder – and its relationship to psychopathy. The model underpinning the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) will be used to explore the construct and enable participants to discuss its possible presence and relevance with more confidence.  (Full training in the CAPP will not be provided as part of this course – but participants will be better able to determine whether psychopathic traits are present and relevant following their attendance). Today’s discussion will also focus on the problems linked to borderline or emotionally unstable personality disorder. The case studies introduced in Day 1 will be extended to include a more detailed consideration of the nature of the problems experienced in each case and their relevance to risk in the family context.