Table of Contents

Introduction. Part I: Basic Concepts. Personality disorders: recent history and future directions. Theories of personality and personality disorders. Categorical and dimensional models of personality disorders. Part II: Clinical Evaluation. Manifestations, clinical diagnosis, and comorbidity. Assessment instruments and standardized evaluation. Course and outcome of personality disorders. Part III: Etiology. A current integrative perspective on personality disorders. Epidemiology. Genetics. Neurobiology. Developmental issues. Attachment theory and mentalization-oriented model of borderline personality disorder. Role of childhood experiences in the development of maladaptive and adaptive personality traits. Sociocultural factors. Part IV: Treatment. Levels of care in the treatment. Psychoanalysis. Psychodynamic psychotherapies. Schema therapy. Dialectical behavior therapy. Interpersonal therapy. Supportive psychotherapy. Group treatment. Family therapy. Psychoeducation. Somatic treatments. Therapeutic alliance. Boundary issues. Collaborative treatment. Part V: Special Problems and Populations. Assessing and managing suicide risk. Substance abuse. Violence. Dissociative states. Defensive functioning. Gender. Cross-cultural issues. Correctional populations: criminal careers and recidivism. Medical settings. Part VI: New Developments and Future Directions. Brain imaging. Translational research. Development of animal models in neuroscience and molecular biology. Biology in the service of psychotherapy. Appendix. Index.

About the Author

John M. Oldham, M.D., M.S., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Andrew E. Skodol, M.D., is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of the Department of Personality Studies at New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York, New York Donna S. Bender, Ph.D., is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Research Scientist in the Department of Personality Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York, New York.

Reviews

"These top scholars have written a book appropriate and useful for all interested clinicians, faculty, and most students in search of a comprehensive review of the topic of personality disorders.... The outstanding aspects of this book are the editors' success in obtaining contributions from so many leading writers, researchers, and clinicians, the comprehensiveness of coverage, and the clarity of the writing on complex subjects... The editors and the authors should be congratulated for assembling this outstanding textbook."-- "Doody's Book Review Service", "September 2005"

"This "Textbook of Personality Disorders" is timely. The book can bring improved recognition to personality disorders and help a broad range of clinicians in working constructively with this challenging group of patients. For a textbook to be successful, it should be informative and authoritative and should have an appropriate breadth of information and viewpoint. This book succeeds in meeting these criteria."-- "New England Journal of Medicine", "October 2005"

"This is an enormously important and definitive text on personality disorders, edited and written by distinguished authorities in our field. It is very well organized and referenced--moving from basic concepts and etiology towards very practical clinical information on treatment, special issues, and future research directions. Students, teachers, clinicians, and researchers will greatly benefit from this comprehensive work."-- "Michelle B. Riba, M.D., M.S., Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan"