Clinical Assessment and Management of Severe Personality Disorders

Book excerpt: Clinical Assessment and Management of Severe Personality Disorders (Clinical Practice 35) offers the clinician working in the community a practicable approach to the treatment of patients with personality disorders. Clearly written, with minimal use of jargon, this book focuses on issues relevant to the clinician in private practice, including the diagnosis of a wide range of personality disorders and alternative management approaches. Recognizing patients with a personality disorder, differentiating one disorder from another, and using psychological tests in the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders are among the clinical assessment issues covered. Two commonly encountered issues -- the assessment and management of patients using a neuropsychiatric approach and treatment of patients with comorbid symptoms and personality disorders -- are discussed. This book takes a broad approach to the management of personality disorders, moving beyond individual dynamic psychotherapy as the only treatment option. Pharmacological management of patients with personality disorders and differential management for patients in various settings are described. A discussion of the etiological impact and implications of early life experiences on the patient offers valuable insight for psychotherapeutic management. Clinicians are also provided with a useful framework for interacting and intervening with the families of patients with personality disorders.