A Psychologist Said Amber Heard Has Histrionic Personality Disorder & Here's What It Means

A psychologist hired by Johnny Depp's legal team said that Amber Heard has borderline and histrionic personality disorders during the ex-couple's defamation trial on Tuesday.

Dr. Shannon Curry shared her findings with the court after spending about 12 hours with the actress. She said she ran Heard through several mental health evaluations during two meetings, and that she also used previous diagnoses to come to that conclusion.

"The results of Ms. Heard's evaluation supported two diagnoses: borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder," said Curry.

She added that Heard displayed a "reactive," "overly dramatic presentation" and that she goes between "princess and victim," according to the Guardian.

Curry also described Heard as “self-righteous," "judgmental" and said she had "grossly exaggerated" symptoms of PTSD.

People with histrionic personality disorder demonstrate a long-term pattern of "self-dramatization" in which they draw attention to themselves and "crave activity and excitement," according to the American Psychological Association. Individuals with histrionic personality disorder "overreact to minor events, experience angry outbursts, and are prone to manipulative suicide threats and gestures," it said.

Curry said that those with borderline personality disorder come off as "charming" and are "socially sophisticated," but their behaviour is volatile. She said they're prone to blowing up and are not aware of the issues caused by their way of thinking.

She added that there is a "desperate fear of abandonment” among those with borderline personality disorder, and they can exhibit extreme behaviour to keep their significant other close. This can involve physical aggression, self-harm or threats, she said.

“When somebody is afraid of being abandoned by their partner or by anybody else in their environment and they have this disorder, they’ll make desperate attacks to prevent that from happening," she said.

Curry said Depp's team hired her to determine whether there was evidence of "intimate partner violence" in Depp's relationship with Heard. His lawyers later asked her to examine Heard.

Heard's lawyer later brought up an old audio clip of Depp telling Heard that she has borderline personality disorder, and asked if it was a "coincidence" that Curry later came to the same conclusion.

Curry said she couldn't speak to that question.

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she claimed that she had been a victim of domestic abuse. Heard didn't mention Depp by name, but his lawyers say it clearly points to him. She is countersuing him for $100 million.

The entire trial is being streamed online at Court TV.