Final answer:
The DSM-5 alternative model for personality disorders represents a shift towards a dimensional model that focuses on individual traits and impairments, allowing for a more individualized and nuanced understanding and treatment of these disorders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The significant shift promoted by the DSM-5 alternative model for personality disorders lies in the move toward a dimensional model that emphasizes personality traits and impairments in personality functioning, rather than a categorical approach that defines discrete disorders. This approach aims to provide a more nuanced and individualized understanding of personality disorders, which potentially leads to better-tailored treatments. The DSM-5 alternative model acknowledges the complexity and uniqueness of personality disorders, challenging the previous rigid classification system. It represents a shift towards recognizing a range of severity and the diversity of symptomatic expressions in personality pathology, allowing for a more flexible and comprehensive diagnostic assessment.
The alternative model includes criteria based on levels of personality functioning that assess the individual's self and interpersonal impairments, as well as pathological personality traits categorized into five broad domains: Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism. By assessing the severity of these traits and impairments, clinicians can better understand the impact of personality disorders on a person's life and make more informed treatment decisions.