The following resources on personality disorders include books primarily geared for clinicians and researchers. This portion of the bibliography was compiled by the former Personality Disorders Foundation.
Books for Clinicians and Researchers
Akhtar, S. (1992). Broken Structures: Severe Personality Disorders and their Treatment. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Alarcon, R.D., Foulks, E.F., & Vakkur, M. (1998). Personality Disorders and Culture: Clinical and Conceptual Interactions. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Allen, D.M. (2003). Psychotherapy with Borderline Patients: An Integrated Approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This problem-focused treatment manual addresses major ongoing family factors that trigger and reinforce the patient's self-destructive or self-defeating behavior. The book draws on the theoretical ideas and techniques of biological family systems, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral therapists to describe an integrated treatment approach for adults with Borderline Personality Disorder.
American Psychiatric Association (2001). APA Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Beck, A.T., Freeman, A., Davis, D.D., & Associates (2004). Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This edition features updates in the theory and treatment of personality disorders. Chapters review the current clinical literature, guide the therapist through diagnosis and case conceptualization, and demonstrate specific cognitive interventions. Expanded case material and additional information on how to overcome therapeutic obstacles are also provided.
Benjamin, L.S. (2003). Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Dr. Benjamin provides a comprehensive introduction to Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy and step-by-step guidelines for practice with individuals with severe, treatment-refractory conditions (including, but not limited to, personality disorders).
Benjamin, L.S. (1996). Interpersonal Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Dr. Benjamin presents a unifying theory of personality disorders with numerous clinical examples.
Benveniste, D.H. (1996). Diagnosis and Treatment of Sociopaths and Clients with Sociopathic Traits. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
This text provides a full course of treatment, with special attention to safety issues and other concerns for different populations in a range of treatment settings.
Bleiberg, E. (2001). Treating Personality Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Relational Approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book presents a research-based framework for understanding and treating children and adolescents with personality disorders. It offers insight into the process by which these disorders develop, and the destructive cycles in which families (and clinicians) become unwittingly ensnared. It provides detailed guidelines for incorporating individual psychotherapy, family treatment, psycho-educational and cognitive techniques, and pharmacotherapy. The paperback version became available in 2004.
Bloomquist, M.L., & Schnell, S.V. (2002). Helping Children with Aggression and Conduct Problems. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book presents empirically supported guidelines for delivering effective services to 3 to 12-year-olds with aggression and conduct problems.
Bockian, N.R., & Jongsma, A.E. (2001). The Personality Disorders Treatment Planner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
This treatment planner describes 32 behaviorally based-presenting problems, and provides a step-by-step guide to writing treatment plans, with many prewritten treatment goals, objectives, and interventions. Numerous subtypes related to all of the personality disorders are described.
Carlson, J., & Sperry, C. (Eds.) (1998). The Disordered Couple. Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Bongar, B. (2002). The Suicidal Patient: Clinical and Legal Standards of Care, 2nd Ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This book provides empirical information on the clinical and legal standards of care for the suicidal patient. The author provides a working model for the assessment, management, and treatment of suicidal patients. New material is provided on cross-cultural assessment and management, the newest case law, and several risk estimators and assessment scales.
Bowers, L. (2002). Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder: Reactions and Role of the Psychiatric Team. Brighton, NY: Brunner-Routledge.
This book is based on research conducted in three English high security hospitals. Through in-depth analysis of an extensive questionnaire survey followed by personal interviews, the author shows how positive or negative attitudes to personality-disordered patients are maintained, and how these attitudes impact nurses and the care they provide to patients.
Brown, L.S., & Ballou, M. (1994). Personality and Psychopathology. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book discusses the development of a context-based, feminist psychological theory. The authors argue for building new models that define distress in a more complex, contextual manner.
Brown, N.W. (1998). The Destructive Narcissistic Pattern. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.
Clarkin, J.F., & Lenzenweger, M.F. (Eds.)(2001). Major Theories of Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Clarkin, J.F., Yeomans, F.E., & Kernberg, O.F. (1998). Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cloninger, Robert C. (Ed.)(2001). Personality and Psychopathology. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
This book compiles the conclusions of numerous internationally recognized experts who carefully examine the link between personality traits and psychopathology from descriptive, developmental, etiological and therapeutic perspectives.
Connor, D.F. (2002). Aggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Research and Treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book explores the developmental course and prevalence of different types of aggressive behaviors, and reviews currently available treatments. Topics reviewed include risk and protective factors, gender variables, and how and why some children "grow out of" conduct problems.
Costa, P.T., & Widiger, T.A. (2002). Personality Disorders and the Five-Factor Model of Personality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This book updates information from the 1994 edition and offers nine new chapters. A new chapter by the editors summarizes 55 empirical studies published since 1994 on the relationship of the Five-Factor Model to personality disorder symptoms.
Craig, R.J. (2005). Personality-Guided Forensic Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This book describes how personality-guided assessment can help forensic psychologists conduct child custody evaluations, fitness for duty evaluations, and assess personal injury and domestic violence. Personality-test scores of chronic pain patients, patients who litigate, and individuals who commit sexual, other physical abuse, or murder are some of the data provided in this book.
Cupach, W.R., & Spitzberg, B.H. (2004). The Dark Side of Relationship Pursuit: From Attraction to Obsession and Stalking. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
These authors integrate a growing multidisciplinary base of knowledge about unwanted relationship pursuit and stalking. Research is presented from the following fields of study: social, clinical, and forensic psychology; psychiatry, counseling, communication, criminal justice, law enforcement, sociology, social work, threat assessment and management, and family studies.
Dawson, D., & MacMillan, H.L. (1993). Relationship Management of the Borderline Patient: From Understanding to Treatment. Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Dean, M.A. (2001). Borderline Personality Disorder: The Latest Assessment and Treatment Strategies. Kansas City, MO: Dean Psych Press Corp. d/b/a/ Compact Clinicals.
This 84-page practitioner-oriented book is easy to read, and provides treatment descriptions, anecdotes, sidebars, definitions, references, a glossary, and various case examples. Psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, interpersonal, cognitive, dialectical behavior therapy, and relapse prevention treatment approaches are discussed.
Derksen, J., Maffei, C., & Groen, H. (Eds.) (1999). Treatment of Personality Disorders. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Donaldson-Pressman, S., & Pressman, R.M. (1997). The Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
This book provides a therapeutic model and step-by-step instructions for treating adults from emotionally abusive or neglectful families.
Driscoll, K.A., Cukrowicz, K.C., Lyons Reardon, M., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (2004). Simple Treatments for Complex Problems: A Flexible Cognitive Behavior Analysis System Approach to Psychotherapy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Written in collaboration with the staff of the Florida State University Psychology Clinic, this book applies CBASP to various personality disorders (Borderline, Schizotypal, Avoidant, PD Not Otherwise Specified), and to other disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders). The implementation of this approach with children, parents, and couples is also described.
Dutton, D.G. (1998). The Abusive Personality: Violence and Control in Intimate Relationships. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
The paperback edition (2002) includes a revised and expanded treatment chapter, and new guidelines for working with Borderline Personality Disorder and attachment disorders in the context of batterer groups. Findings from the author's research with over 400 batterers are integrated with literature on object relations, attachment, and psychological trauma to trace the development of the abusive personality form early childhood to adulthood. The book also discusses clinical outcomes and a detailed, practical overview of a 16-week treatment program.
Ellis, A. (2002). Overcoming Resistance: A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Integrated Approach (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co.
This book looks at the underlying causes of resisting cognitive-emotional-behavioral change and the methods used to overcome it. Dr. Ellis reviews the basic principles of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, as well as changes in the field of psychotherapy during the last two decades.
Enright, R.D., & Fitzgibbons, R.P. (2000). Helping Clients Forgive: An Empirical Guide for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The authors integrate over 20 years of research in forgiveness, and explain the process of forgiveness in psychotherapy.
Everly, G.S., & Lating, J.M. (2004). Personality-Guided Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This guide draws from Theodore Millon's personality-guided psychology, and discusses the role that personality factors play in the cause and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The authors offer guidance on how to assess PTSD and incorporate an understanding of personality in the formation of the therapeutic alliance.
Foa, E.B., Keane, T.M., & Friedman, M.J. (Eds.) (2000). Effective Treatments for PTSD: Practice Guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book evaluates the efficacy of established and emerging treatment approaches for adults, adolescents, and children with PTSD. Paperback version of book became available in 2004.
Freeman, A., & Fusco, G.M. (2002). Borderline Personality Disorder: A Therapist's Guide to Taking Control. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
This therapist's manual provides practical strategies (and relevant research and theory) to help the client assert and maintain control over his/her thoughts, feelings, and actions. Relapse prevention is also discussed. See Fusco and Freeman's associated patient guide below.
Freeman, A., Stone, M.H., & Martin, D. (Eds.). (2004). Comparative Treatments of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co.
This book will be released in July, 2004.
Gabbard, G.O., & Wilkinson, S.M. (2000). Management of Countertransference with Borderline Patients. Northvale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Goldberg, A. (Ed.) (2001). Narcissistic Patient Revisited (Progress in Self Psychology, Vol. 17). Pomptom Plains, NJ: Analytic Press.
Gunderson, J.G. (2001). Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
This book is a sequel to Dr. Gunderson's original 1984 analysis of issues involving Borderline Personality Disorder. This guide is geared for clinicians, with helpful clinical vignettes.
Gunderson, J.G., & Gabbard, G.O. (2000). Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders Volume 19#3. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Research shows that psychotherapy remains an effective treatment for people with personality disorders. An examination of psychodynamic treatment for borderline personality disorder speaks to its efficacy. An analysis of the rationale for combining psychotherapy and psychopharmacology emphasizes the importance of identifying temperament and target conditions. A treatise on antisocial personality disorder suggests that clinicians must acquire the depth of understanding and skill sufficient to determine what the cut-off point is for treatable versus nontreatable gradations.
Guntrip, H. (1991)Schizoid Phenomena, Object-Relations and the SelfMadison, CT: International Universities Press.
Hampton, W.H., & Burnham, V.S. (1990). The Two-Edged Sword: A Study of the Paranoid Personality in Action. Santa Fe, NM: Sunstone Press.
The authors discuss case studies of individuals with paranoia (e.g., Indira Gandhi, Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill), and encourages the reader to use the book to develop self knowledge and self control.
Hanna, F.J. (2002). Therapy with Difficult Clients: Using the Precursors Model to Awaken Change. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The author describes seven "precursors" of change: hope, awareness, a sense of the necessity of change, the willingness to experience anxiety or difficulty, confronting issues, the exertion of effort, and the presence of social support. The author offers tools for assessing the readiness for change in clients and in therapists, as well as a number of strategies, examples, and insights for therapists who face significant obstacles in the therapeutic relationship.
Harper, R.G. (2004). Personality-Guided Therapy in Behavioral Medicine. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The author examines how personality type influences the course of various medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Hellinger, G., van Luyn, B., & Dalewijk, J.J. (Eds.) (2001). Personalities: Master Clinicians Confront the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
This book emerged from a series of Psychiatry in Progress workshops (Amersfoort, the Netherlands). Psychoanalytic, interpersonal, and cognitive-behavioral clinicians describe their approach to the treatment of severe personality disorders. Patricia Woodward of NEPDA states that "the first-person voice in each chapter makes each author come alive."
Henggeler, S.W., Schoenwald, S.K., Borduin, C.M., Rowland, M.D., & Cunningham, P.D. (1998). Multisystematic Treatment of Antisocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
The journal Contemporary Psychology noted that this well-organized book shows a keen appreciation of the complexity of serving antisocial youths and their families.
Henggeler, S.W., Shoenwald, S.K., Rowland, M.D., & Cunningham, P.B. (2002). Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children and Adolescents: Multisystemic Therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This manual presents the multisystemic therapeutic approach to working with emotionally disturbed children and adolescents. The framework provided in this book is grounded in over 20 years of clinical research.
Hofmann, S.G., & Tompson, M.C. (Eds.) (2002). Treating Chronic and Severe Mental Disorders: A Handbook of Empirically Supported Interventions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Horwitz, L., Gabbard, G.O., Allen, J.G., & Frieswyk, S. (1996). Borderline Personality Disorder: Tailoring the Psychotherapy to the Patient. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
This book emphasizes how the clinician can decide between the use of supportive as opposed to expressive techniques, depending upon patient characteristics.
Hubble, M.A., Duncan, B.L., & Miller, S.D. (1999). The Heart and Soul of Change: What Works in Therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
These authors integrate findings from clinical, research, quantitative, individual and family therapy, health and school psychology, and from various theoretical perspectives, to elucidate the ingredients found in successful therapies, and the essentials needed to promote change.
Jacobs, D.G. (Ed.) (1998). The Harvard Medical School Guide to Suicide Assessment and Intervention. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Joseph, S. (1997). Personality Disorders: New Symptom-Focused Drug Therapy. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Medical Press.
Judd, P.H., & McGlashan, T.H. (2003). A Developmental Model of Borderline Personality Disorder: Understanding Variations in Course and Outcome. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Kantor, M.D. (2002). Passive-Aggression: A Guide for the Therapist, the Patient, and the Victim. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Kantor, M.D. (1993). Distancing: A Guide to Avoidance and Avoidant Personality Disorder. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Kernberg, O.F. (1993). Severe Personality Disorders: Psychotherapeutic Strategies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Kernberg, O.F. (1993). Aggression in Personality Disorders and Perversions. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Kernberg, P., Weiner, A.S., & Bardenstein, K.K. (2000). Personality Disorders in Children and Adolescents. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Kohut, H. (1971). The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders. Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
Kroll, J. (1993). PTSD/Borderlines in Therapy: Finding the Balance. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
This author presents a useful working model for the practitioner. The challenges of working with individuals with PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder are described in over twenty cases, many of which show the pitfalls that frequently undermine the therapy of abuse victims.
Kroll, J. (1988). The Challenge of the Borderline Patient: Competency in Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Lachkar, J. (1998). The Many Faces of Abuse: Treating the Emotional Abuse of High-Functioning Women. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Lachkar, J. (1992). The Narcissistic/Borderline Couple: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Marital Treatment. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.
Layden, M.A., Newman, C.F., Freeman, A., & Morse, S.B. (2002). Cognitive Therapy of Borderline Personality Disorder (Psychology Practitioner Guidebooks). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Leahy, R.L. (Ed.) (2003). Roadblocks in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Each research-based chapter addresses a specific type of "roadblock," and explores how it arises and can be overcome. A section on specific populations examines difficulties that occur in treating psychosis, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and binge eating. Other sections discuss how to engage angry patients and deal with alliance ruptures, and ways to overcome obstacles in couple and family work.
Leahy, R.L. (2001). Overcoming Resistance in Cognitive Therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book is designed to help the clinician better understand and work with patients who seem unable or unwilling to make needed changes. It integrates ideas from a range of psychotherapeutic approaches and presents a multi-dimensional model of resistance. Using clinical examples, it describes specific obstacles to change that may arise in the cognitive therapy context, and presents practical strategies and interventions. (2003, paperback).
Levin, J.D. (1993). Slings and Arrows: Narcissistic Injury and its Treatment. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Linehan, M.M. (1993). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Dr. Linehan describes a comprehensive therapy approach (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that defines treatment targets and goals, and which explains how to structure treatment strategies for specific tasks and crises (including suicide risk assessment and management).
Linehan, M.M. (l993). Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This step-by-step guide helps the clinician teach patients mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance. It discusses how to conduct skills training, and when to try other treatment strategies. Reproducible DBT handouts and exercises are included.
Links, P.S. (Ed.) (1995). Clinical Assessment and Management of Severe Personality Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Livesley, W.J. (2003). Practical Management of Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book identifies the core symptoms and problems that many personality disorder patients share and provides a comprehensive framework for clinical intervention. The author describes how a wide range of empirically supported interventions can be used to manage specific components of a treatment plan, and provides research-based strategies ranging from crisis intervention to long-term treatment. The clinician learns how to conceptualize the phases of treatment and use the stages-of-change model to help select appropriate interventions.
Livesley, W.J. (Ed.) (2001). Handbook of Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This handbook reviews the classification, etiology, and development of personality disorders. Diagnostic issues are considered in depth and assessment instruments are reviewed and evaluated.
Livesley, W.J. (Ed.) (1995). The DSM-IV Personality Disorders. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Loeber, R., Farrington, D.P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W.B. (1998). Antisocial Behavior and Mental Health Problems: Explanatory Factors in Childhood and Adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Lykken, D.T. (1995). The Antisocial Personalities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
MacFarlane, M. (2004). Family Treatment of Personality Disorders: Advances in Clinical Practice. Binghampton, NY: Haworth Clinical Practice Press, Inc.
This book examines the application of marital and family therapy approaches to the treatment of various personality disorders. Each chapter is written by a family therapist with extensive experience treating personality disorders and includes a case example, an exploration of the impact of the disorder on family members, a look at cultural and gender issues, and an examination of how the model is integrated with traditional psychiatric services and the use of medication.
Magnavita, J.J. (1999). Relational Therapy for Personality Disorders. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Integrative Relational Psychotherapy (IRP) is a dynamic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders that capitalizes on recent major advances in the fields of personology and therapy systems theory. The author presents numerous case studies and vignettes drawn from his own practice.
Magnavita, J.J. (1997). Restructuring Personality Disorders: A Short-Term Dynamic Approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Manfield, P. (1994). Split Self/Split Object: Understanding and Treating Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Disorders. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Masterson, J.F. (2000). The Personality Disorders: A New Look at the Developmental Self and Object Relations Approach: Theory, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker and Co., Inc.
McCallum, D. (2001). Personality and Dangerousness: Genealogies of Antisocial Personality Disorder. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Tracing the history of the category of antisocial personality disorder, this book suggests that its emergence is linked to particular kinds of governing, rather than simply to advances in the human sciences or a means of social control. From a social theoretical perspective, the author examines key legal and institutional developments in Australia, the U.K, and the U.S., as well as parallel developments within psychiatry and psychological medicine.
McCormack, C.C. (1999). Treating Borderline States in Marriage: Dealing with Oppositionalism, Ruthless Aggression, and Severe Resistance. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
McCullough Vaillant, L. (1996). Changing Character: Short-Term Anxiety-Regulating Psychotherapy for Restructuring Defenses, Affects and Attachment. New York, NY: Basic Books.
McFarlane, W.R. (2002). Multifamily Groups in the Treatment of Severe Psychiatric Disorders. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book provides a complete guide to the multifamily psychoeducational approach. Part I describes the theoretical and empirical foundations of the model. Parts II and III discuss the practical issues of treatment and how the model can be applied to other disorders including bipolar disorder, depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, borderline personality disorder, and medical illness.
McMahon, R.J., & Forehand, R.L. (Foreword by Sharon Foster) (2003). Helping the Noncompliant Child: Family-Based Treatment for Oppositional Behavior (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This edition features extensive research on the best practice of parent-training, and includes reproducible handouts.
McMahon, R.J., & Peters, R.D. (Eds.) (2002). The Effects of Parental Dysfunction on Children. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Millon, T. (1999). Personality-Guided Therapy. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
This manual provides comprehensive guidelines on therapy for DSM-IV Axis I and II disorders. Each chapter examines a specific disorder in the DSM-IV (e.g. depression, anxiety, antisocial) and contains detailed instruction on using Millon's person-centered therapy model, with case examples.
Millon, T., Davis, R., Millon, C., Escovar, L., & Meagher, S. (2000). Personality Disorders in Modern Life. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Millon, T., Simonsen, E., Birket-Smith, M., & Davis, R.D. (Eds.) (2003, paperback). Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Psychopathy is one of the least understood personality disorders, and one of the most difficult personality disorders to treat. This book comprehensively reviews research on the causes and effects of psychopathy, as well as current management approaches.
Norcross, J.C., Santrock, J.W., Campbell, L.F., Smith, T.P., Sommer, R., & Zuckerman, E.L. (2003). Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This guide covers 36 wide-ranging categories, and is geared for clinicians, graduate students, and consumers.
Paris, J. (2003). Personality Disorders over Time: Precursors, Course, and Outcome. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Paris, J. (1994). Borderline Personality Disorder: A Multidimensional Approach. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Parsons, R.D., & Wicks, R.J. (Eds.) (1983). Passive-Aggressiveness: Theory and Practice. Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Perris, C., & McGorry, P.D. (Eds.) (1998). Cognitive Psychotherapy of Psychotic and Personality Disorders: Handbook of Theory and Practice. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Piper, W.E., Joyce, A.S., McCallum, M., Azim, H.F., & Ogrodniczuk, J.S. (2002). Interpretive and Supportive Psychotherapies: Matching Therapy and Patient Personality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Piper, W.E., Rosie, J.S., Joyce, A.S., & Azim, H.F.A. (1996). Time-Limited Day Treatment for Personality Disorders: Integration of Research and Practice in a Group Program. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Preston, J.D. (1997). Shorter Term Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorders. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
This guide offers strategies to help clients stabilize emotions, decrease vulnerability, and work toward more adaptive day-to-day functioning. It covers diagnostic issues and detailed treatment strategies from a variety of approaches.
Putallaz, M., & Bierman, K.L. (2004). Aggression, Antisocial Behavior, and Violence among Girls: A Developmental Perspective. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book traces the development of female aggression and violence from early childhood through adulthood. Various theoretical perspectives are presented with longitudinal data that describe aggressive girls' relationships with peers, later romantic partners, and with their own children. Also discussed are predictors of both social and physical aggression at different points in the lifespan, and the connections between being a victim and a perpetrator of harmful behavior.
Ratey, J.J. (Ed.), & Fogel, B.S. (Contributing Ed.) (1995). Neuropsychiatry of Personality Disorders. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Science.
Robinson, D.J. (1999). Disordered Personalities (2nd Ed.). Port Huron, MI: Rapid Psychler Press.
Reid, W.H., Dorr, D., Walker, J.I., Bonner III, J.W. (Eds.) (1986). Unmasking the Psychopath: Antisocial Personality and Related Symptoms. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Reid, J.B., Patterson, G.R., & Snyder, J.J. (2002). Antisocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents: A Developmental Analysis and Model for Intervention. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This volume suggests that to change aggressive behavior, one must change the environment in which the child lives. This book describes empirically proven approaches to reducing the occurrence and severity of antisocial behavior, beginning in the earliest years of childhood. The writers argue an approach that pinpoints the antecedents of antisocial behavior from toddlerhood through adolescence.
Ronningstam, E.R. (Ed.) (2000). Disorders of Narcissism: Diagnostic, Clinical and Empirical Implications. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Combining empirical evidence, clinical diagnostic observations, and advances in treatment, this volume addresses subjects such as cognitive treatment, normal narcissism, pathological narcissism and suicide, and the connection between narcissism, trauma, and alexithymia.
Rosenbluth, M. (Ed.) & Yalom, I.D. (Contributor) (1997). Treating Difficult Personality Disorders. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Rosowsky, E., Abrams, R.C., & Zweig, R.A. (Eds.) (1999). Personality Disorders in Older Adults: Emerging Issues in Diagnosis and Treatment. LEA Series in Personality and Clinical Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
This book offers various theoretical perspectives (intrapsychic, interpersonal, neuropsychological and systems), summarizes the empirical literature, presents phenomenological case reports, and reviews psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and pharmacological treatment approaches.
Roth, A., & Fonagy, P. (2004). What Works for Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book, which features contributions from Glenys Perry, Ph.D., Mary Target, Ph.D., and Robert Woods, M.A., provides a systematic, comprehensive, and balanced evaluation of the current status of major psychotherapeutic approaches. Information is presented for individuals of all ages. Personality Disorders are among the various disorders reviewed. Also reviewed is the impact of therapist and client characteristics on outcome.
Roth, B.E., Stone, W.N., & Kibel, H.D. (Eds.) (1990). Difficult Patient in Group: Group Psychotherapy with Borderline and Narcissistic Disorders. Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
Rudd, M.D., Joiner, T., & Rajab, M.H. (2001). Treating Suicidal Behavior: An Effective, Time-Limited Approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
These authors provide clinicians with practical measures for suicidal patients that are both empirically-based and time-limited.
Salzman, L. (1990). Treatment of the Obsessive Personality. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2001). Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book contains reproducable handouts.
Selekman, M.D. (2002). Living on the Razor's Edge: Solution-Oriented Brief Family Therapy with Self-Harming Adolescents. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
This practice-oriented guidebook describes a family therapy model for self-harming adolescents that integrates elements of solution-focused, narrative, postmodern, strategic, cognitive, and expressive therapy approaches, with Native American healing methods and rituals. Many of the therapeutic techniques and strategies are supported by research on adolescent development, protective factors of resilient children and adolescents, and treatment outcome studies. Numerous culturally diverse case examples are provided.
Sells, S.P. (Forewords by Jay Haley and Neil Schiff) (1998). Treating the Tough Adolescent: A Family-Based, Step-by-Step Guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
The Journal of Family Psychotherapy strongly recommended this book for clinicians who treat difficult teenagers.
Skodol, A.E., Hollander, E., & Oldham, J.M. (Eds.) (1996). Impulsivity and Compulsivity. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Simeon, D., & Hollander, E. (Eds.) (2001). Self-Injurious Behaviors: Assessment and Treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Silk, K.R. (Ed.) (1998). Biology of Personality Disorders. Review of Psychiatry Series, Vol. 17. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Silk, K. (Ed.) (1994). Biological and Neurobehavioral Studies of Borderline Personality Disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Slaby, A., & Garfinkel, L.F. (1996). No One Saw My Pain: Why Teens Kill Themselves. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
The authors present psychological profiles of 8 severely depressed adolescents who either attempted or committed suicide. The severity of the distress was missed not because the people around the adolescents didn't care, but because they didn't know what to look for. The authors alert readers to the factors that may lead to suicide.
Slavinska-Holly, N. (Ed.) (1988). Borderline and Narcissistic Patients in Therapy. Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
Snyder, D.K., & Whisman, M.A. (Eds.) (2003). Treating Difficult Couples: Helping Clients with Coexisting Mental and Relationship Disorders. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book describes treatment for couples struggling with both relationship distress and individual mental health difficulties. Included are well-established treatments for couples in which one or both partners has anxiety, mood disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, or engages in physical aggression. Also covered are emerging couple-based approaches to managing personality disorders, PTSD, difficulties related to aging and physical illness, and other problems.
Solomon, M.F. (1992). Narcissism and Intimacy: Love and Marriage in an Age of Confusion. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Sperry, L. (2003). Handbook of Diagnosis and Treatment of DSM-IV-TR Personality Disorders (2nd Ed.). Independence, KY: Brunner-Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
This handbook surveys the full range of personality disorders and highlights numerous advances that have occurred since the publication of the DSM-IV.
Sperry, L. (1999). Cognitive Behavior Therapy of DSM-IV Personality Disorders: Highly Effective Interventions for the Most Common Personality Disorders. Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Stone, M.H. (1993). Abnormalities of Personality: Within and Beyond the Realm of Treatment. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Swenson, C.C., Henggeler, S.W., Taylor, I.S., & Addison, O.W. (Foreword by Patricia Chamberlain) (2004). Multisystemic Therapy and Neighborhood Partnerships: Reducing Adolescent Violence and Substance Abuse. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book discusses effective strategies for working with at-risk youth that incorporates the resources of clinicians, human service professionals, neighborhood residents, community organizations, and others. The book describes the implementation of MST on a neighborhood-wide scale, and covers empirical and clinical foundations, program planning, and strategies for building collaboration with relevant community members.
Wessler, R.L., Hankin, S., & Stern, J. (2001). Succeeding with Difficult Clients: Applications of Cognitive Appraisal Therapy. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Young, J.E. (1999). Cognitive Therapy for Personality Disorders: A Schema-Focused Approach (Third Ed.). Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.
This book discusses the application of schema-focused therapy to treat various personality disorders. Developed by Dr. Young, schema-focused therapy integrates cognitive behavior therapy with gestalt, object relations, and psychoanalytic approaches.
Young, J.E., Klosko, J.S., & Weishaar, M.E. (2003). Schema Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
This book provides step-by-step guidelines for assessment and treatment of individuals with personality disorders, as well as detailed protocols for treating borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Clinicians learn ways to conceptualize challenging cases, explore the client's childhood history, identify and change self-defeating behavioral patterns, use imagery and other treatment strategies, and maximize the influence of the therapeutic relationship.
This page was last reviewed by Dr Greg Mulhauser, Thursday, 14 October 2021.