Personality & Interpersonal Fuctioning

The Personality & Interpersonal Functioning Assessment Service at CFIR offers comprehensive psychological evaluations of your and your loved one’s personality and interpersonal functioning. Typically, these types of assessments provide important information about the habitual ways that you tend to think, emotionally react and relate to others in everyday life. This information is important as some individuals struggle in everyday life as a result of some features of their personality and their manner of engagement with others and this blocks them from living a rich, meaningful and purposeful existence (e.g., developing and reaching personal goals, creating greater self-resilience, and developing strong relationships with others).

What types of assessment do we offer?

Typically, the assessment involves a thorough assessment of your personality style and traits, self and self-esteem, and emotional regulation strategies, along with an evaluation of your interpersonal tendencies and predominant attachment strategy in close relationships. Through clinical interviews, and psychological testing in which only the most scientific, evidence-based questionnaires are utilized, clinical psychologists at CFIR are able to provide you with a snapshot of core self and relationship struggles. Assessments also are used for the purpose of providing or clarifying a diagnosis of a personality disorder (e.g., Schizoid, Narcissistic, Borderline, Avoidant, Obsessive-Compulsive), and constructing treatment plans to support you to develop a more resilient, secure sense of self and strengthen your relationships.

How do I know if I, or a loved one, need a personality or interpersonal functioning assessment?

Do any of these items apply to you?

• Are you having difficulties trusting anyone whatsoever?
• Do you overly read negative intentions and motivations in others that are not easily shifted?
• Are you persistently avoiding or having difficulties in intimate relationships?
• Do you feel that everyone takes advantage of you or uses you?
• Do you feel that other people are threatening or dangerous?
• Are your emotions inappropriate to the situation at times (i.e., too excessive, too inhibited, or no emotion)?
• Do others’ feelings seem not to matter to you?
• Are you overly reactive to others’ emotional responses and needs?
• Are you cold or distant, or overly emotional with others?
• Are you prone to outbursts of anger?
• Do you see things in black-and-white ways?
• Have you done, or seriously thought of doing, cruel things to yourself or others?
• Can you take advantage of others without caring about the impact on the other?
• Do your moods fluctuate rapidly?
• Do you quickly shift from overly positive views of yourself and others to extremely negative views of yourself and others?
• Are your needs always more important than the needs of others?
• Do you engage in self-destructive or reckless behaviours?
• Are you terrified of being alone?
• Are you overly orderly or perfectionistic?
• Do you have difficulties receiving criticism or praise?
• Do you exaggerate or distort thoughts, feelings, behaviours and meanings of events to gain attention or get your way?
• Do others find you are rigid or stubborn in your thinking, reactions and views?

How can I get a referral to the Personality & Interpersonal Functioning Service? Who can refer to this Service?

You can refer yourself or a loved one to our service.

Health care professionals, including physicians, psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists may also refer their patients for an assessment, particular when anxiety and depression are longstanding and more traditional treatments, such as medication and short-term psychotherapy approaches, have not facilitated significant clinical change.

What’s involved in a personality & interpesonal functioning assessment? How long will the assessment take?

Typically, we meet with you or your loved one for an initial session to understand your concerns and struggles. Following an initial meeting, we will conduct one or two sessions involving a clinical interview to clarify the types of personality and interpersonal difficulties you might be experiencing. We then will administer a wide range of scientific, evidence-based questionnaires—reliable and valid measures of personality traits and personality style, and interpersonal and attachment tendencies. Following this process, your clinical psychologist will integrate the results from the clinical interview and questionnaires, and may require a subsequent session to further clarify his or her understanding of your difficulties. A diagnosis can be rendered or clarified on the basis of this process, if appropriate and desired, and recommendations for treatment are provided to guide you and your loved one toward a more positive sense of yourself and relationships. You will be provided feedback on the results of the assessment, and all your questions about the results will be addressed.

The entire assessment process, which includes an initial session, clinical interviews and administration of scientific, evidence-based questionnaires, assessment feedback, and a report with recommendations (if needed) will take approximately four weeks to complete. Please consult with your clinical psychologist to determine the length of time required to complete your particular assessment.

What type of report or recommendations might I expect?

Upon assessment and feedback, your clinical psychologist will provide you with a full and thorough list of recommendations to support you to address areas of concern. Typical recommendations offered include suggestions for further specialized assessment, specific psychological treatment modalities best suited for your condition or referrals to other health care professionals based on your goals and needs.