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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffAntisocial personality disorder can be challenging to treat, and there's no specific treatment for it. You may not even want treatment or think you need treatment. But because antisocial personality disorder tends to be chronic and can sometimes last much of your adult life, you may need long-term treatment. You may also need treatment for other conditions you may have, such as depression, anxiety or thyroid disorders.
Treatment teams
Often, a team approach is appropriate to make sure all of your psychiatric, medical and social needs are met. The team involved in treatment of antisocial personality disorder may include your:
- Family or primary care doctor
- Psychiatrist
- Psychotherapist
- Pharmacist
- Family members
- Social workers
If possible, find medical and mental health providers with experience in treating antisocial personality disorder.
Treatment options
Several treatments are available for antisocial personality disorder. They include:
- Psychotherapy
- Stress and anger management skills
- Medications
- Hospitalization
The treatment that's best for you depends on your particular situation and the severity of your symptoms.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is the main way to treat antisocial personality disorder. Psychotherapy is a general term for the process of treating a condition by talking about your condition and related issues with a mental health provider. During psychotherapy, you learn about antisocial personality disorder and your mood, feelings, thoughts and behavior. Using the insights and knowledge you gain in psychotherapy, you can learn healthy ways to manage your symptoms.
Types of psychotherapy used to treat antisocial personality disorder may include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy. This combines features of both cognitive and behavior therapies to help you identify unhealthy, negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy, positive ones.
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy. This is based on the theories of psychoanalysis, focuses on increasing your awareness of unconscious thoughts and behaviors, developing new insights into your motivations, and resolving conflicts to live a happier life.
- Psychoeducation. This teaches you — and sometimes family and friends — about your illness, including treatments, coping strategies and problem-solving skills.
Psychotherapy may be provided in individual sessions, in group therapy, or in sessions that include family or even friends. The type of psychotherapy that's right for you depends on your individual situation.
Stress and anger management skills
Irritability, aggression, violence and anger are common features of antisocial personality disorder. Building skills to cope with volatile emotions may help you control behavior before it becomes harmful to yourself or someone else.
Medications
There are no medications specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat antisocial personality disorder. However, several types of psychiatric medications may help with certain symptoms sometimes associated with antisocial personality disorder:
- Antidepressant medications. Antidepressants may be useful if you have a depressed mood, anger, impulsivity, irritability or hopelessness.
- Mood-stabilizing medications. As their name suggests, mood stabilizers can help even out mood swings or reduce irritability, impulsivity and aggression.
- Anti-anxiety medications. These may help if you have anxiety, agitation or insomnia. But in some cases, they can increase impulsive behavior.
- Antipsychotic medications. Also called neuroleptics, these may be helpful if your symptoms include losing touch with reality (psychosis) or in some cases if you have anxiety or anger problems.
Hospitalization and residential treatment programs
In some cases, your antisocial personality disorder symptoms may be so severe that you require psychiatric hospitalization. Psychiatric hospitalization is generally recommended only when you aren't able to care for yourself properly or when you're in immediate danger of harming yourself or someone else. Psychiatric hospitalization options include 24-hour inpatient care, partial or day hospitalization, or residential treatment, which offers a supportive place to live.
Participating in your own care
Try to be an active participant in your treatment. Working together, you and your doctor or therapist can decide which treatment options may be best for your situation, depending on the severity of your symptoms, your personal preferences, insurance coverage, affordability, treatment side effects and other factors. In some cases, your personality disorder may be so severe that a doctor, loved one or guardian may need to guide your care until you're well enough to participate in decision making.
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