Nidotherapy: a new approach to the treatment of personality disorder

OBJECTIVE: To develop a treatment, nidotherapy, or nest therapy, so named because it aims to alter the sufferer's personal environment rather than symptoms or behaviour, in the management of personality disorders. METHOD: Case studies, in which analysis of the environmental circumstances associated with the problems of personality disorder is followed by planned adjustment to that environment so that it makes a more appropriate fit for the personality. RESULT: Sustained improvement was found in two individuals with personality disorder after nidotherapy. Those with persistent and predictable personality attributes are easier in principle to treat than those with episodic or variable problems. CONCLUSION: Nidotherapy deserves further consideration in the management of personality disorders.