Mental illness that is difficult to classify: a case study.

A case is presented of a man who has been detained in secure psychiatric hospitals for the majority of his life. Although his index offence was minor he has a long history of violence. The patient has collected a vast number of diagnoses over the years.

Critical developments in the assessment of personality disorder.

Background: The assessment of personality disorder is currently inaccurate, largely unreliable, frequently wrong and in need of improvement.

Aims: To describe the errors inherent in the current systems and to indicate recent ways of improving personality assessment.

Method: Historical review, description of recent developments, including temporal stability, and of studies using document-derived assessment.