Continuing Education for Psychologists

COGNITIVE THERAPY OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS, 3rd Edition

This widely used practitioner resource and training tool is the definitive work on understanding and treating personality disorders from a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) perspective. The prominent editors and contributors explain the nature of personality disorders and why they are so challenging to treat. Chapters addressing 12 specific disorders are organized around vivid, instructive clinical examples. The book provides up-to-date scientific knowledge about each disorder and describes effective strategies for differential diagnosis, case conceptualization, implementing individualized CBT interventions, and overcoming roadblocks.

New to This Edition:

• Incorporates cutting-edge clinical approaches and research; expands the cognitive theory of personality disorder
• Chapters on neural mechanisms, cultural diversity issues, and depressive personality disorder
• Chapters on co-occurring disorders and management of clinical challenges
• Disorder-specific chapters now include sections on key treatment goals, progress and termination, and clinician self-care
• Discusses DSM-5 concepts and diagnostic criteria
• Reviews advances in assessing personality beliefs.

Aaron T. Beck, M.D., is the founder of cognitive therapy, University Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and President Emeritus of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Dr. Beck has worked extensively with personality disorders and has been an investigator on two studies using cognitive therapy with borderline personality disorder. Denise D. Davis, Ph.D, is Assistant Director of Clinical Training in Psychology at Vanderbilt University. She is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT), and a Fellow of the APA, and is certified by the ACT as a trainer, speaker, and consultant for cognitive therapy. Arthur Freeman, Ed.D, ABPP, is Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Midwestern University, where he is Executive Director of the Clinical Psychology Programs. Dr. Freeman's research and clinical interests include marital and family therapy, and cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.

"Personality disorders are debilitating conditions that, unfortunately, are far too commonly encountered in modern society. Fortunately, this remarkable volume shows just how far we have come in having the tools needed to successfully intervene when we encounter these conditions in the clinic. Particularly welcome in this third edition is the increased emphasis on connecting cognitive interventions with empirically based, dimensional models of personality disorder, such as the Alternative DSM-5 Model. An indispensable resource for students, practitioners, and researchers alike."
--Robert F. Krueger, PhD, Hathaway Distinguished Professor and Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota

"The editors have assembled an international group of experts who provide practical, evidence-informed guidance on effectively managing difficult clinical situations. Using rich clinical examples and offering useful strategies, contributors illustrate how to manage the challenges and comorbidity so common in patients with personality disorders. Synthesizing a theoretical framework for understanding the organization of personality from a cognitive therapy perspective, strategies are grounded in neurobiology and incorporate sensitivity to cultural norms. Sections on treatment planning and progress monitoring address the patient's well-being, while sections on therapist self-care acknowledge the demands of this kind of work. This volume belongs on the bookshelf of clinicians and educators--even if you have the prior edition."
--Donna M. Sudak, MD, Director of Psychotherapy Training, Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine

"I often say when lecturing to students that the most successful treatment for people with personality disorders is to send them (individually) to uninhabited desert islands. Without interaction with others personality disorder does not exist. So in treating personality disorders we are faced with a problem; how do we make the therapeutic relationship different from the client's previous relationships? This updated edition of a well-established book explains how--comprehensively and well. At the heart of cognitive behavior therapy is the building of collaboration and trust, a genuinely informed combination which the editors and authors of this volume show us 'is probably more important when addressing personality disorders than in treating symptomatic problems.'"
--Peter Tyrer, MD, Centre for Mental Health, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

"Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders, Third Edition is a 'new classic.' This outstanding volume is completely updated, with extensive reviews of research as well as new conceptualizations and techniques, and it is filled with wisdom about the therapeutic relationship and other roadblocks to change. Every therapist interested in working with personality disorders--which should be every therapist--will want to read this volume and benefit from the clinical insights provided. I highly recommend this excellent resource."
--Robert L. Leahy, PhD, Director, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College

"This seminal work updates and elaborates on one of the most important applications of cognitive therapy. Describing how to understand and change individuals' self-defeating behaviors that annoy or harm those around them, the third edition is further enhanced by chapters on assessment and the neural underpinnings of such beliefs and behaviors."
--Steven D. Hollon, PhD, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University