The Clinical Utility of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale: A Treatment Perspective

The Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) was introduced in DSM-5 to articulate a conceptual foundation for all types of personality psychopathology, and to provide an assessment of the severity of impairment. Constructed using universal human capacities related to self- and interpersonal functioning, the LPFS defines a continuum of 5 levels ranging from optimal functioning to extreme impairments in functioning. While there have been a growing number of empirical studies demonstrating its reliability and validity, the LPFS was designed fundamentally as an informative clinical tool, potentially useful to practitioners working in a variety of roles using diverse interventions. This article addresses the issue of treatment utility from 2 particular perspectives. First, we illustrate how the capacities targeted by the LPFS offer a framework for treatment, applicable to a variety of theoretical or methodological orientations. We illustrate that the different facets of the LPFS may provide general aims for treatment by identifying the pathways through which change is realized in (whatever) psychotherapy. Second, we suggest how the levels of functioning may inform pathways toward change by providing information useful for treatment assignment and planning, such as the therapist's stance, the types of intervention, and specific goals in treatment. Through discussing these issues while using brief clinical vignettes, we hope that this article may stimulate clinicians to use the LPFS and discover its value in clinical practice.