Severe Personality Disorders

Originally published in 2007, this book is about understanding and managing patients with severe personality disorders. It covers biological, psychoanalytic and cognitive behavioral approaches and provides a pragmatic guide to best practice. As well as discussing issues of severity, treatability and the range of appropriate management options, the content explores the common elements of effective interventions and covers early prediction, countertransference, disruptions of the therapeutic alliance, suicidal crises and what to do when dealing with dangerous, refractory and stalking patients. The chapters are authored by an international cast of distinguished investigators and innovators from the field. This is a holistic, practical guide to the treatment of patients with a range of these disorders and it should be read by members of the mental health team dealing with this challenging clinical group.

Bert van Luyn is Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Head of Ambulatory Services for Longterm Psychiatric Disorders, Symfora Groep, the Netherlands. Salman Akhtar is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson medical College and Supervising and Training Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, USA. W. John Livesley is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Canada.