The avoidant personality disorder: A proposal for specialized treatment in the Spanish National Health System

Avoidant personality disorder is a common, heterogeneous and disabling mental health problem. Despite this, few studies have specifically focused on avoidant personality disorder treatment, and clinical guidelines have not been developed. Therefore, the main purpose of this work is to critically review the available literature on this topic, and propose a specialized treatment for patients with severe avoidant personality disorder in the Spanish National Health System. The Galatea program is an intensive and longer treatment that combines individual therapy based on Mentalization-Based Therapy and Metacognitive Interpersonal Group Therapy. In order to illustrate the treatment, a clinical case treated within the program is presented. Finally, Galatea s healthcare implications in the specialized treatment of severe avoidant personality disorder in the public mental health settings are discussed.