Provides a practical and readable overview of personality disorders at an intermediate level. Designed to be used by students for course study, during clinical rotations, and for exam review.

People with personality disorder who offend tend to be neglected by health services in most countries. In the UK, there has been renewed interest in the field since government initiatives in the end of the 1990s. Government proposals themselves are controversial, but there is growing recognition that it is unsafe, both for the general public and fo

People with disordered personalities are much more likely than most to practice substance abuse, attempt suicide, and suffer from major anxiety and depressive disorders. They are also more difficult to treat for mental disorders, and their chances of relapse are greater. Clearly then, it is essential that mental health professionals be able to identify and cope with personality disorders in their patients. Unfortunately, the task of accurately assessing disordered personalities based solely on nebulous, polythetic categories such as those provided in the DSMTM is akin to that of the three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. What is needed is a new approach to conceptualizing personality disorders based on observable behaviors rather than inferential nosologies. In this book, Charles G. Costello lays the foundations for just such an approach. Reculer pour mieux sauter—to retreat so as to better leap ahead—is the phrase Dr. Costello uses to articulate the spirit in which this book was conceived. Stated more practically, his goal in presenting this volume is to afford psychotherapists an opportunity to step back from questionable clinical categories and redirect their attention onto the individual personality traits commonly associated with personality disorders—to more clearly define them, their origins, and their functional relationships—and in so doing, open up new avenues for research and provide clinicians with a surer conceptual footing upon which to base diagnoses and devise treatment strategies. To achieve that end, Dr. Costello invited a group of leading researchers and clinicians in the field to share their understanding of the current state of knowledge about personality disorders. Over the course of eleven chapters, each devoted to a separate personality characteristic, these experts review the latest research data and offer their professional insights into the major personality characteristics of the personality disordered, including aggressiveness, anxiousness, emotional instability, impulsiveness, dependency, narcissism, detachment, paranoia, obsessiveness, and sensation-seeking. Personality Characteristics of the Personality Disordered is a valuable resource for clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and all mental health practitioners, as well as personality theorists and researchers. SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION Edited by Charles G. Costello This groundbreaking book advances our understanding of depression by directing focus away from the global syndrome of depression and onto the individual symptoms it comprises. Some of the field's foremost researchers and clinicians share their findings and offer insights into all major symptoms of depression, including dysphoria, anhedonia, sleeping problems, hopelessness, suicide attempts, social dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction, eating problems, and more. Each symptom is discussed using a common format: definition, measurement, frequency of occurrence, a review of clinical and experimental findings that have led to the current theories of the causes of the symptom, its functional relationship to other symptoms of depression, and implications for clinical practice. 1993 (0-471-54304-7) 322 pp. SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA Edited by Charles G. Costello This volume offers readers an opportunity to step back from unwieldy clinical categories of syndromes and redirect their attention onto the symptoms that comprise those syndromes. Leading clinicians and researchers in the field review the current state of knowledge about the major symptoms common to schizophrenic disorders and share their insights into thinking disorders, hallucinations, delusions, disorders of affect, ambivalence, social withdrawal, anhedonia, psychomotor abnormalities, and more. Symptoms are treated in individual chapters in order of: definition, measurement, frequency, a review of clinical and experimental findings that have led to current theories of the causes of the symptom, its functional relationships to other symptoms, and implications for clinical practice. 1993 (0-471-54875-8) 320 pp. DISORDERS OF PERSONALITY DSM-IV and Beyond Second Edition Theodore Millon and Roger D. Davis This fully revised second edition of Theodore Millon's landmark work guides researchers, teachers, and students through the special complexities of this group of disorders and aids clinicians in the difficult work of diagnosis. A compelling new feature of this edition is its revised theoretical framework—the learning theory biosocial approach has grown into a more evolutionary model that includes constructs applicable to phylogenesis and human adaptive styles. Other new features include: the expansion of the 15 basic personality prototypes into personality disorder subcategories; an enlarged review of historical and contemporary thinking on personality disorders; an expanded "clinical picture" segment for each chapter; and comprehensive reviews of the newer personality prototypes, such as avoidant, narcissistic, borderline, schizotypal, depressive, sadistic, and masochistic. This Second Edition also includes new chapters on personality assessment and personality therapy and an up-to-date review of available instruments, as well as an expanded and detailed discussion of short-term, focused therapy. 1995 (0-471-01186-X) 768 pp.

In order to work effectively with people with personality disorders it is important that Mental Health Social Workers (MHSWs) have a clear understanding of trauma and its impact on the person. It is also important that they have good relational skills and the support of the team and organisation. Drawing on an analysis of the similarities (and differences) in service user and MHSWs’ perspectives, the book outlines the further skills, knowledge and conditions that will help them to make a more effective contribution to the support of those with personality disorder. The book will appeal to qualified Mental Health Social Workers and those on Post-Qualifying Programmes because, uniquely, it explores personality disorder from a social work perspective.

Disordered Personalities and Crime seeks to better understand how we respond to those individuals who have been labelled at various points in time as ‘morally insane’, ‘psychopathic’ or ‘personality disordered’. Individuals whose behaviour is consistent with these diagnoses present challenges to both the criminal justice system and mental health systems, because the people who come to have such diagnoses seem to have a rational and realistic understanding of the world around them but they can behave in ways that suggest they have little understanding of the meaning or consequences of their actions. This book argues that an analysis of the history of these diagnoses will help to provide a better understanding of contemporary dilemmas. These are categories that have been not only shaped by the needs of criminal justice and the claims of expertise by professionals, but also the fears, anxieties and demands of the wider public. In this book, David W. Jones demonstrates us how important these diagnoses have been to the history of psychiatry in its claims for professional expertise, and also sheds light on the evolution of the insanity defence and helps explain why it remains a problematic and controversial issue even today. This book will be key reading for students, researchers and academics who are interested in crime and its relationship to mental disorder and also for those interested in psychiatry and abnormal psychology.

Determining the amenability of personality disorders to psychotherapy -- a patient's capacity to benefit from verbal approaches to treatment -- is important in helping clinicians determine the treatability of cases. Michael Stone here shares the factors he has observed over long years of practice that can help practitioners evaluate patients, stressing the amenability of the various disorders to amelioration. By focusing on which patients are likely to respond well to therapeutic intervention and which will prove most resistive, his book will help therapists determine with what kinds of patients they will most likely succeed and with which ones failure is almost a certainty. Stone establishes the attributes that affect this amenability -- such as the capacity for self-reflection, motivation, and life circumstances -- as guidelines for evaluating patients, then describes borderline and other personality-disordered patients with varying levels of amenability, from high to low. This coverage progresses from patients belonging to the DSM "anxious cluster," along with the depressive-masochistic character and the hysteric character, to patients who demonstrate an intermediate level of amenability to psychotherapy. He introduces the interrelationship between borderline personality disorder and dissociative disorders and discusses treatability among certain patients in Clusters "A" and "C," as well as others with narcissistic, histrionic, depressive disorders. Final chapters address the most severe aberrations of personality and the limitations they impose on the efficacy of therapy. Personality-Disordered Patients is filled with practical, clinically focused information. This guideline structured book: Covers all personality disorders-including ones not addressed in the latest DSM such as sadistic, depressive, hypomanic, and irritable-explosive Identifies both attributes necessary for treatability and factors associated with low treatability Pays particular attention to borderline disorders, which represent the most discussed conditions and are among the most challenging to psychotherapists Reviews personality traits whose presence, if intense-even if unaccompanied by a definable personality disorder-creates severe problems for psychotherapy Numerous case studies throughout the book provide examples that will help therapists determine which of their own patients are most likely to benefit from their efforts and thereby establish their own limits of effectiveness. By alerting practitioners to when therapy is likely to fail, these guidelines can help them avoid the professional disappointment of being unable to reach the most intractable patients.

There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment for BPD—especially if you have a coexisting condition. BPD rarely occurs alone. For the first time, this groundbreaking guide offers a tailored approach to managing the symptoms of complex BPD. If you’ve been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), or suspect that you might have it, you should know that not everyone experiences the condition in the same way. BPD actually manifests on a spectrum, and while some people may encounter extreme symptoms and consequences on one end, others may be less affected on the other. In addition, if you’re struggling with other conditions—such as bipolar disorder, depression, psychotic symptoms, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)—you may have complex BPD (C-BPD), and may benefit from expanding your knowledge and building your skills, so you can seek out a symptom management plan that is tailored to your unique needs. In Complex Borderline Personality Disorder, psychologist and BPD expert Daniel J. Fox offers a new understanding and awareness of the complexity of BPD, and helps you lay the groundwork needed to manage your symptoms more effectively. You’ll find checklists of specific symptoms to help you identify coexisting conditions related to BPD. And with this guide, you’ll feel more empowered to move forward in your life with all the knowledge, skills, and abilities you’ve learned. A clinician's guide is available as a downloadable resource for therapists wishing to use this book with their clients.

Personality-disordered people are not uncommon in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, or even our homes. They include people who are persistently paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, antisocial, or overly dependent. Most of them do not realize the hardships they create for themselves and their families. This book is an introductory guide for those who live and work around personality- disordered people, and for general readers seeking illustrations of the disorders. Dobbert illustrates warning signs that can be missed and walks readers through scenarios that are common with personality-disordered people. He explains how such maladies might develop, and most important, how they can be successfully addressed.

This book covers the whole range of personality dysfunction, following the new ICD-11 classification of personality disorder.