Normal and Abnormal Personality Patterns in a Patients with Leukemia: A Clinical Case study

Cancer can cause many psychological problems. Up to now, most of the research has focused on post-cancer problems, while this study has been done with the purpose of understanding the normal and abnormal personality patterns which would have a role in cancer. The aime of this study was to clarify the normal and abnormal personality patterns in a patients with leukemia. This study is based on the biopsychosocial model of health and dynamic model of personality. Shedler and Westsen's Assessment Procedure (SWAP) was used for evaluating the patient's normal/abnormal personality patterns. The diagnosis which obtained from conducting SWAP were consistent with the patient's normal/abnormal personality patterns. In other words, the dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder patterns in the patient was consistent with low self-knowledge, high narcissism, low machiavelism, low psychopathy, low self-esteem, high fundamentalism, high repression, low mindfulness, low self-compassion, and high social desirability. Findings of this study explored the main normal and abnormal personality charachteristics associated with leukemia. Identifying and planning for managing the effects of these kind of personality patterns could empower psychotherapeutic protocols and also increase therapeutic compliance in patients with lukemia.