Can Therapeutic Interventions Change Personality?

According to Lazarus and MacKenzie (1997), several modes of therapy, including even brief therapy, can result in permanent personality change in people with a variety of psychoemotional and personality disorders. But is this true? This paper examines the literature for evidence that therapeutic interventions produce personality changes. Conclusions are formulated based on the reviewed research.

The first question that can be asked regarding therapy and personality change is whether personality is so stable that it cannot be changed at all? Research conducted with pharmacological interventions, however, is well established in terms of showing that personality changes can be effected by medication across a broad scope of disorders (Austrian, 2000).

Indeed, based on their own research and a comprehensive review of the literature, Brody, Saxena, Faribanks, Alborzian, Demaree, Maidment and Baxter (2000) concluded that pharmacotherapy can change three basic dimensions of personality in both depressed patients and patients with obsessive compulsive disorder, these being harm avoidance, hostility in social situations, and social dominance.

Thus, personality changes can be effected by medicine. Whether the changes remain following the withdrawal of medicine is not well established but Austrian (2000) reports that in many cases, the withdrawal of medication does not produce a retu