Amber Heard showed signs of borderline and histrionic personality disorders, but not post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a clinical and forensic psychologist who evaluated the actress.
Dr. Shannon Curry, who was hired by Johnny Depp’s legal team, told the court that she was asked to “provide a psychological evaluation of Ms. Heard” in October 2021, but was never asked to do so for Depp, 58.
As part of Heard’s evaluation and her medical records, which include mental health treatment, Dr. Curry reviewed “all the case documents,” revealing that she met with Heard “on two separate dates,” Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, 2021, for about 12 hours total face time.
The psychologist said, “The results of Ms. Heard’s evaluation supported two diagnoses: borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.”
Dr. Curry said she saw no evidence of PTSD in her Heard’s evaluation. However, she noted, “Just because somebody doesn’t have PTSD doesn’t mean that they weren’t harmed psychologically by whatever is being alleged — in this case, Ms. Heard is alleging that she was psychologically harmed and that she suffered PTSD because of abuse that she alleges occurred by Mr. Depp.”
A borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that severely impacts a person’s ability to regulate their emotions, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This loss of emotional control can increase impulsivity, affect how a person feels about themselves, and negatively impact their relationships with others.
A histrionic personality disorder is a condition “characterized by dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior,” according to Mayo Clinic.
In her testimony, Dr. Curry said that those with histrionic personality disorder can tend to take on a “victim” or “princess” role with false stories.
On Tuesday, Dr. Curry said in court that “there was information that supported” her conclusions in her evaluation of Heard “from multiple sources,” including a test the psychologist conducted herself and “evidence of those diagnoses in her records and in her self-report.”
Heard’s attorney asked Dr. Curry whether she was board certified. She responded that she is not.
Depp is suing Heard for libel after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 about surviving domestic violence, though she never mentioned Depp by name in the article. He originally filed the $50 million lawsuit in March 2019.
