Dr. Shannon Curry took the stand on April 26, 2022, the ninth day of the trial, to discuss her psychological evaluation of Heard. Dr. Curry said that she evaluated Heard for about 12 hours total and drew her conclusions based on her meetings with Heard, as well as on Heard’s prior medical and psychological records, photos, “multiple witness statements,” audio and video recordings. “The results of Ms. Heard’s evaluation supported two diagnoses: borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder,” Dr. Curry said, noting that Heard didn’t appear to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alleging that Heard exaggerated her claims of PTSD symptomology. She added, “Just because somebody doesn’t have PTSD doesn’t mean that they weren’t harmed psychologically by whatever is being alleged—in this case, Ms. Heard is alleging that she was psychologically harmed and that she suffered PTSD because of abuse that she alleges occurred by Mr. Depp.” Dr. Curry also alleged that some borderline personality disorder patients may use “administrative abuse,” as in using the courts and legal system, to retaliate and punish partners with whom they’re arguing. Dr. Curry also confirmed that Depp’s legal team met with and interviewed her at Depp’s home prior to the trial, allegedly to vet her. She did not evaluate Depp. During cross-examination of Dr. Curry, Heard’s attorneys pointed out that Dr. Curry is not board-certified, though she has been licensed and practicing for more than a decade. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation of character for writing an op-ed in The Washington Postin 2018 about being a victim of sexual violence. Heard did not name Depp in the editorial. Heard is countersuing Depp and attorney Adam Waldman for $100 million for calling her domestic violence allegations a “hoax.” Depp previously filed a lawsuit against News Group Newspapers LTD in the U.K. for libel. The case was dismissed after a judge found that the tabloid had sufficient grounds to accurately call the Pirates of the Caribbeanstar a “wife-beater.” Depp’s attempt to appeal in that case was denied.
What is borderline personality disorder?
According to The Cleveland Clinic, about 6% of people in the United States are believed to have a borderline personality disorder, which is characterized by extreme and frequent mood swings; that patients may “have trouble regulating their emotions, controlling their behavior and maintaining stable relationships.” A main feature of borderline personality disorder is an extreme fear of abandonment, as well as impulsive and dangerous behavior (including substance abuse, risky sexual activity, reckless driving and gambling), self-harm and suicidal ideation and threats to end their own lives. Borderline patients may also suffer from depression and feelings of emptiness and a lack of a sense of self, as well as paranoia and dissociation. Dr. Ziv Cohen, board-certified forensic and clinical psychiatrist and founder of Principium Psychiatry, tells Parade, “Borderline personality disorder is a condition that affects how a person relates to themselves and to others. Individuals with BPD tend to have identity diffusion, which refers to a poor sense of self. They may feel they don’t know who they really are, and they may seek various ways to feel like they have a more stable identity, such as adopting a persona that fits with a particular group.” “They tend to suffer from a fear of abandonment, and this leads them to cling to others in a way that leads loved ones to feel suffocated,” Dr. Cohen continued. “Individuals with BPD may have ’love/hate’ relationships, where they both fear abandonment but also resent the person whom they feel has so much power over them.” Dr. Cohen explains, “Individuals with BPD often suffer from feelings of extreme emptiness. These feelings can be so extreme that the individual may try to drown them out by engaging in impulsive sex, or even by injuring themselves (often by cutting themselves on the arms or legs). Individuals with BPD will describe cutting as giving them a soothing feeling, and one major challenge with BPD is convincing the patient to give up self injury as a means of self-soothing.”
What is histrionic personality disorder?
As for histrionic personality disorder, Dr. Cohen points out that it shares some symptoms with BPD. “Individuals with this disorder tend to be highly emotional. They need to be the center of attention at all times,” he said. “When they are not the center of attention, they often have an ’emotional crisis’ which draws the attention back to them. They are colorful and can be exciting to be around because they seem to experience life so vividly, but after a while their partners tend to tire of them because their behavior is exhausting. They tend to have an ‘impressionistic’ cognitive style, meaning they experience life vaguely and remember the sense of how something made them feel rather than details that would enable someone to develop an in-depth understanding of what happened to them.”
How is borderline personality disorder treated?
According to Dr. Cohen, BPD is predominantly treated with psychotherapy, though medications may be used for the more severe symptoms like depression, anxiety, and mood swings. “Psychotherapy is aimed at helping the patient identify the triggers that lead them to feel abandoned or anxious, and to investigate what are better ways of responding to these triggers,” Dr. Cohen said. “For example, a patient who recognizes that an intimate partner not responding to a text message leads to feelings of abandonment can learn to develop alternative ways of thinking and coping strategies.”
How is histrionic personality disorder treated?
Histrionic personality disorder is treated similarly, Dr. Cohen said, noting, “The psychotherapy focuses on helping the patient observe the extreme emotions and to become less dominated by them. In addition, the therapy helps the patient become aware of how the histrionic behaviors affect others (which is something these patients often are oblivious to).”
What are common misconceptions about borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder?
Dr. Cohen says that both histrionic personality disorder and BPD are often under-diagnosed, explaining, “Some mental health providers often find these conditions somewhat mysterious and are anxious about diagnosing them because they don’t fully understand them. There needs to be more education about these conditions. In addition, some mental health providers may worry they will be stigmatizing the patient if they diagnose them with a ‘personality disorder.’ For this reason, mental health providers may prefer to give other diagnoses like ‘bipolar disorder’ or ‘anxiety.’ Another factor is that there is a debate in the mental health community about where to draw the line between a personality disorder like borderline personality and certain mood disorders like bipolar disorder.” Despite the issues diagnosing these personality disorders, Dr. Cohen says that most patients with BPD and histrionic personality disorder actually improve over time whether or not they receive treatment. “The conditions tend to be worst in young individuals, and often the symptoms become milder and the individual ages and has more life experience,” Dr. Cohen said. “Sadly, many of these individuals will regret the choices they made and the ‘wasted years’ lost to the condition. The best way to improve more quickly is to engage in psychotherapy tailored to these conditions, such as dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) or Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP).” Next, find out what actually happened to Johnny Depp’s severed fingertip.
