Bruce Michael Bongar

John F. Clarkin

Larry E. Beutler

From initial consultation to termination of treatment, psychologists and other mental health practitioners make a series of crucial decisions to determine the progress and therapy of the patient. These decisions have varied implications such as the clinical course of the patient, the efficacy and efficiency of the treatment, and the cost of the sessions. Thus, the decisions made by mental health professionals need to be accurate and consistent, respecting a series of guidelines that will ultimately benefit the patient. This is the first in a series of guidebooks that is designed to do just that by providing practitioners with some structure in the development of treatment programs. Previous guidelines have been based on consensus panels of experts or on the opinions of membership groups, causing guidelines to be very far off from the findings of empirical research. Here, guidelines are presented in terms of treatment principles rather than in terms of specific treatment models or theories, and they do not favor one theory of psychotherapy over another. Instead, they define strategies and considerations that can be woven into comprehensive treatment programs. The entire series of guidebooks will cover numerous topics, including anxiety disorders, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and treatment of serious mental disorders. This volume will cover in detail the nature of depression, issues in treatment research, contemporary treatments, and implications for education and training. It is ideal for postgraduates and professionals in the mental health field and is intended to provide important background on treatment of non-bipolar depressive disorders.

Guidelines for the Systematic Treatment of the Depressed Patient

Otto F. Kernberg

Eve Caligor

Offering a sophisticated introduction to a contemporary psychodynamic model of the mind and treatment, this book provides an approach to understanding and treating higher level personality pathology. It describes a specific form of treatment called "dynamic psychotherapy for higher level personality pathology" (DPHP), which was designed specifically to treat the rigidity that characterizes that condition. Based on psychodynamic object relations theory, DPHP is an outgrowth of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) and is part of an integrated approach to psychodynamic treatment of personality pathology across the spectrum of severity -- from higher level personality pathology, described in this volume, to severe personality pathology, described in a companion volume, Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality: Focusing on Object Relations. Together, they provide a comprehensive description of an object relations theory-based approach to treatment of personality disorders, embedded in an integrated model of personality. As a guide to treatment, Handbook of Dynamic Psychotherapy for Higher Level Personality Pathology provides a clear, specific, and comprehensive description of how to practice DPHP from beginning to end, presented in jargon-free exposition using extensive clinical illustrations. The authors offer a comprehensive description of psychodynamic consultation that includes sharing the diagnostic impression, establishing treatment goals, discussing treatment options, obtaining informed consent, and establishing treatment frame. Throughout, the book emphasizes fundamental clinical principles that enable the clinician to think through clinical decisions moment-to-moment and also to develop an overall sense of the trajectory and goals of the treatment. Among the book's benefits: Takes a diagnosis-driven approach, presenting a clear model of both the psychopathology and its treatment; Explains underlying theory and basic elements of DPHP for those first learning dynamic therapy; Offers an integrated, innovative synthesis of contemporary psychodynamic approaches to personality pathology and psychodynamic psychotherapy; Describes goals, strategies, tactics, and techniques of the treatment to demonstrate its flexibility over a relatively long course of treatment; Provides sophisticated discussion of integrating dynamic psychotherapy with medication management and other forms of treatment. DPHP offers a broad range of patients the opportunity to modify maladaptive personality functioning in ways that can permanently enhance their quality of life. Handbook of Dynamic Psychotherapy for Higher Level Personality Pathology provides experienced clinicians with a hands-on approach to that method, and is also useful as a primary textbook in courses focusing on the technique of dynamic psychotherapy or in courses on psychodynamics.

Handbook of Dynamic Psychotherapy for Higher Level Personality Pathology

Marvin Reznikoff

Stephen W. Hurt

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Psychological Assessment, Psychiatric Diagnosis & Treatment Planning

Mark F. Lenzenweger

This volume brings under one cover the principal theories of personality disorder, including cognitive, psychoanalytic, interpersonal, evolutionary, and neurobiological models. Chapters are written by such preeminent authorities as Aaron T. Beck, Otto F. Kernberg, Lorna Smith Benjamin, Theodore Millon, and Richard Depue. Providing valuable insight into the growing body of data on the personality disorders, the volume also lays a strong foundation for the next wave of empirical research.

Major Theories of Personality Disorder

Frank E. Yeomans

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide presents a model of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and its treatment that is based on contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory as developed by the leading thinker in the field, Otto Kernberg, M.D., who is also one of the authors of this insightful manual. The model is supported and enhanced by material on current phenomenological and neurobiological research and is grounded in real-world cases that deftly illustrate principles of intervention in ways that mental health professionals can use with their patients. The book first provides clinicians with a model of borderline pathology that is essential for expert assessment and treatment planning and then addresses the empirical underpinnings and specific therapeutic strategies of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). From the chapter on clinical assessment, the clinician learns how to select the type of treatment on the basis of the level of personality organization, the symptoms the patient experiences, and the areas of compromised functioning. In order to decide on the type of treatment, the clinician must examine the patient's subjective experience (such as symptoms of anxiety or depression), observable behaviors (such as investments in relationships and deficits in functioning), and psychological structures (such as identity, defenses, and reality testing). Next, the clinician learns to establish the conditions of treatment through negotiating a verbal treatment contract or understanding with the patient. The contract defines the responsibilities of each of the participants and defines what the reality of the therapeutic relationship is. Techniques of treatment interventions and tactics to address particularly difficult clinical challenges are addressed next, equipping the therapist to employ the four primary techniques of TFP (interpretation, transference analysis, technical neutrality, and use of countertransference) and setting the stage for and guiding the proper use of those techniques within the individual session. What to expect in the course of long-term treatment to ameliorate symptoms and to effect personality change is covered, with sections on the early, middle, and late phases of treatment. This material prepares the clinician to deal with predictable phases, such as tests of the frame, impulse containment, movement toward integration, episodes of regression, and termination. Finally, the text is accompanied by supremely instructive online videos that demonstrate a variety of clinical situations, helping the clinician with assessment and modeling critical therapeutic strategies. The book recognizes that each BPD patient presents a unique treatment challenge. Grounded in the latest research and rich with clinical insight, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide will prove indispensable to mental health professionals seeking to provide thoughtful, effective care to these patients.

John F. Clarkin

Books

Your next favorite book is out there