An abridged version of The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Personality Disorders, this volume presents the essentials of this topic and is updated with the recent growth of knowledge in the neurosciences and the new technologies being used to tackle the treatment of complex psychiatric disorders. In Essentials of Personality Disorders, 35 international authorities--all contributors to the parent text--offer a balance of theory, research, and treatment geared toward ready application in a busy practice. This volume begins with a review of our evolving understanding of personality disorders and the major theories that have influenced thinking about their nature. A succinct guide to clinical evaluation follows, presenting the defining features of DSM-IV-TR personality disorders, complementary approaches to clinical assessment, patterns of Axis I and Axis II disorder comorbidity, and clinical courses and outcomes. Chapters on etiology reflect the most recent data on epidemiology, progress in understanding underlying neurobiology, a developmental perspective on recognizing early patterns of behavior suggestive of future disorders, and the relevance of childhood experiences to the development of maladaptive personality traits. Eleven chapters on treatment then offer guidelines for determining the appropriate intensity of treatment for patients, followed by a presentation of therapeutic options and considerations ranging from psychoanalysis and group treatment to boundary issues and collaborative treatment.

This new edition of The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Personality Disorders has been thoroughly reorganized and updated to reflect new findings, expanded treatment options and considerations, and future directions, such as translational research, enhancing the text's utility while maintaining its reputation as the foremost reference and clinical guide on the subject. In four exhaustive and enlightening sections, the book covers basic concepts of personality disorders, etiology, clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, and it addresses special issues that may arise with specific populations or settings. In addition, the text offers many features and benefits: Several chapters describe the intense efforts to identify the scientifically strongest -- and clinically relevant -- approaches to conceptualizing and enumerating personality traits and pathology. The book does not sidestep ongoing controversies over classification but addresses them head-on by including chapters by experts with competing perspectives. The hybrid dimensional/categorical alternative model of classification for personality disorders included in the DSM-5 is included in an appendix and thoroughly referenced throughout the volume and discussed in detail in several chapters. Coverage of current research is up-to-date and extensive. Longitudinal naturalistic studies, which have shown surprising patterns of improvement in patients with selected personality disorders, as well as new and more rigorous treatment studies, have yielded critical findings in recent years, all of which are thoroughly addressed. Dozens of vivid and detailed case examples are included to illustrate diagnostic and treatment concepts. The editors have selected a roster of contributors second to none, and the text has been scrupulously edited for consistency of language, tone, and coverage. As clinical populations become better defined, new and more rigorous treatment studies are being conducted with increasingly promising results. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Personality Disorders offers clinicians, residents, and trainees in all disciplines a front row seat for the latest findings and clinical innovations in this burgeoning field.

Through dozens of tables, illustrative figures, and real-life case examples, established experts in the field, as well as a new generation of scientists, examine clinical concepts; risk factors for and impact of personality disorders; treatment options (including a new chapter on early identification of borderline psychopathology in children); special populations; and future directions for the field.

"Personality is not about what disorders you have but about who you are. It refers to a person's characteristic patterns of thought, feeling, behavior, motivation, defense, interpersonal functioning, and ways of experiencing self and others. All people have personalities and personality styles. While there are as many personalities as people, clinical knowledge accrued over generations has given rise to a taxonomy of familiar personality styles or types. Most people, whether healthy or troubled, fit somewhere in the taxonomy. Empirical research over the past two decades has confirmed the major personality types and their core features.1-5 Most clinical theorists do not view the personality types as inherently disordered. They are generally discussed in the clinical literature as personality types, styles, or syndromes-not "disorders." Each exists on a continuum of functioning from healthy to severely disturbed. The term "disorder" is best regarded as a linguistic convenience for clinicians, denoting a degree of extremity or rigidity that causes significant dysfunction, limitation, or suffering. One can have, for example, a narcissistic personality style without having narcissistic personality disorder. The same personality dynamics give rise to both strengths and weaknesses. A person with a healthy narcissistic personality style has the confidence to dream big dreams and pursue them; they can be visionaries, innovators, and founders. A person with a healthy obsessive-compulsive style excels in areas requiring precise, analytic thinking; they may be successful engineers, scientists, or academics. A person with a healthy paranoid style looks beneath the surface and sees what others miss; they may be investigative journalists or brilliant medical diagnosticians. Our best and worst qualities are often cut from the same psychological cloth"--

This Handbook provides both breadth and depth regarding current approaches to the understanding, assessment, and treatment of personality disorders. The five parts of the book address etiology; models; individual disorders and clusters; assessment; and treatment. A comprehensive picture of personality pathology is supplied that acknowledges the contributions and missteps of the past, identifies the crucial questions of the present, and sets a course for the future. It also follows the changes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) has triggered in the field of personality disorders. The editors take a unique approach where all chapters include two commentaries by experts in the field, as well as an author rejoinder. This approach engages multiple perspectives and an exchange of ideas. It is the ideal resource for researchers and treatment providers at all career stages.

Since the second edition of this authoritative text was published in 2002, the research base supporting the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality disorder has more than quadrupled. As a result, the vast majority of this volume is new.

This text provides a summary of what is currently known about the diagnosis, assessment, construct validity, etiology, pathology, and treatment of personality disorders. It also provides extensive coverage of the many controversial changes for the DSM-5, including chapters by proponents and opponents to these changes.

For decades, The Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM)--the most popular of the projective tests--has been routinely employed for personality assessment and treatment planning. But in recent years, it has not been free from controversy. Criticisms of its validity and empirical support are catalyzing new efforts to strengthen its foundations and document its broad utility. Among the most common--yet also most confusing and challenging--categories of clinical disorders is the personality disorders. However, minimal data have been available on the RIM evaluation of most of those found in DSM-IV. This welcomed book constitutes the first research-grounded, comprehensive guide to the use of the RIM in assessing personality disorders. The first section offers a theoretical overview of personality disorders and constructs a framework and compelling rationale for the legitimate role of the RIM in their assessment. The second, third, and fourth sections present Cluster A disorders--paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal; Cluster B disorders--antisocial and psychopathic, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic; and Cluster C disorders--avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive. The fifth section presents passive aggressive and depressive personality disorders, currently being proposed for DSM inclusion. Each chapter in these four sections includes an extensive description of the disorder, a review of empirical studies of the use of the RIM to assess it, an analysis of the Rorschach variables that may characterize patients diagnosed with it, and a depiction of a real case and discussion of the ways in which the RIM contributed to its formulation. The sixth and final section explores the relationship between psychoanalytic theory and the RIM. Rorschach Assessment of the Personality Disorders brings practical help for clinicians and clinicians-in-training, and suggests new paths for researchers seeking to advance our understanding of the complexities of these disorders.

The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders reviews and advances this innovative and increasingly popular scheme for diagnosing and evaluating personality disorders. The authors identify the multiple clinical, theoretical, and research paradigms that co-exist in the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) and show how the model can aid the practicing mental health professional in evaluating and treating patients as well as its importance in stimulating research and theoretical understanding of this domain. This work explores and summarizes methods of personality assessment and psychiatric evaluation, research findings, and clinical applications of the AMPD, highlighting its usefulness to clinical teaching and supervision, forensic application, and current research. It is a go-to reference for experienced professionals and researchers, those who wish to learn this new diagnostic system, and for clinicians in training.

Now in its Third Edition, this book clarifies the distinctions between the vast array of personality disorders and helps clinicians make accurate diagnoses. It has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the changes in the forthcoming DSM-5. Using the classification scheme he pioneered, Dr. Millon guides clinicians through the intricate maze of personality disorders, with special attention to changes in their conceptualization over the last decade. Extensive new research is included, as well as the incorporation of over 50 new illustrative and therapeutically detailed cases. This is every mental health professional's essential volume to fully understanding personality.