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.
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.
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.
In this important book, one of the world's foremost psychoanalysts provides the clinician with tools to diagnose and treat severe cases of personality disorder, including borderline and narcissistic structures. Dr. Kernberg not only describes techniques he has found useful in clinical practice but also further develops theories formulated in his previous work and critically reviews other recent contributions. "A splendid book . . . of great value for anyone involved in psychotherapy with patients suffering from one or another variety of personality disorder, as well as for anyone who is teaching or doing research in this field. . . . An outstandingly fine and valuable book.--Harold F. Searles, M.D., Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "Kernberg is a synthesizing, creative eclectic on the contemporary psychoanalytic and psychodynamic scene, broadly based in theory and in practice, a powerful intelligence, a prolific writer, and a man of ideas....This is a challenging and provocative book."--Alan A. Stone, M.D., American Journal of Psychiatry "A major work that brings together in one volume a host of clinical insights into people with a variety of severe personality disorders.... Anyone who has attempted to work with patients with severe personality disorders will be rewarding by studying this book." --Robert D. Gillman, Psychoanalytic Quarterly
This work offers an evaluation of competing theoretical perspectives and nosological systems for personality disorders. The editors have brought together recognized authorities in the field to offer a synthesis of competing perspectives that provide readers with an assessment for each disorder. The result is a comprehensive, current, and critical summary of research and practice guidelines related to the personality disorders. Key Features focuses on controversies and alternative conceptualizations; separate chapters are dedicated to each personality disorder and considered from various points of view. It presents authoritative perspectives; leading scholars and researchers in the field provide a critical evaluation of alternative perspectives on each personality disorder. And it frames the current state of personality disorder research and practice issues; cutting edge and streamlined research is presented to be used in courses on diagnosis, assessment, psychopathology and abnormal psychology, especially those that include the DSM IV. It also offers an integrative understanding of elusive personality categorizations; wherever possible, case examples are offered as illustrations of each disorders clinical presentation. The use of technical terms are minimized; each contributor takes the approach of a user friendly summary and integration of major trends, findings, and future directions.
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.
"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"--
