This article describes the headlines of the Educational Program on Personality Disorders produced by the WPA Section on Personality Disorders and the International Society on the Study of Personality Disorders. Lifelong personality traits serve as a substrate and a context for understanding more florid and distinct forms of psychopathology. Personality disorders affect at least 10% of the population, and the direct and indirect social costs associated with crime, substance abuse, increased need for medical care, family disruption, delayed recovery from clinical syndromes and medical diseases is substantial. Numerous theories, models and methods have been proposed to describe and to understand personality and its disorders: descriptive, statistical, psychoanalytic, evolutionary, neurobiologic. Classification has either taken a prototypical or a polythetic approach, but in recent years dimensional formats for classifying personalities have gained more interest. Personality pathology has a complex and variable character of interwoven developmental bio-psycho-social influences. A number of reliable instruments for assessment of personality and its disorders have emerged during the last three decades and a wide range of tailored psychotherapeutic techniques are now available. Personality disorders are treatable and remission is more likely than treatment resistance. Education is needed for all health professionals in psychiatric services. The full WPA program is available to be downloaded for free from WPA's website www.wpanet.org.
Keywords: Personality disorders; classification; diagnosis; education; treatment.