Forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry testified in court on Tuesday that Amber Heard suffers from two personality disorders.
Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million (£38 million) over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse". She also countersuing him.
As a psychologist working for Depp's legal team, Curry took to the stand to give evidence against Heard's claim that Depp was abusive during their marriage between 2015 and 2016.
Curry claimed Heard has borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder, reports Buzzfeed News.
According to the Mayo Clinic, borderline personality disorder symptoms include "self-image issues, difficulty managing emotions and behavior, and a pattern of unstable relationships." The Cleveland Clinic describes the "overwhelming desire to be noticed, and often behave dramatically or inappropriately to get attention" as the dominant indicator of histrionic personality disorder.
Curry based her claims on several mental health tests Heard took during their meetings, which totalled 12 hours, last December.
Justifying her diagnosis, Curry said histrionic personality disorder manifests as "impressionistic speech - so it tends to be very flowery. It uses a lot of descriptive words like 'magical,' 'wonderful' and it can go on for quite some time, and yet it really lacks any substance... that occurred a number of times."
Curry also noted the "quick shift" in Heard's emotions during their interactions, as a basis for her borderline personality disorder diagnosis. She explained that Heard "would suddenly be one way and then she would become very animated or very sad, and when people are displaying these emotions with this personality disorder there is a sense of shallowness to it."
Curry also told the court that she believes the Aquaman actress does not have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from the troubled marriage. She insisted Heard "grossly exaggerating symptoms of PTSD when asked about them" and only had three of the 20 core symptoms of PTSD.
Upon cross-examination from Heard's lawyers, Curry admitted she was not board-certified and that she has never testified about violence between partners before.
Heard is expected to testify later in the trial, which is taking place at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.
