Treatment of Personality Disorders

It has been almost twenty years since DSM-III created a major shift in psychi­ atric classification procedures and in diagnostic and treatment practice by introducing the multi-axial system and, for our patients specifically, the Axis II: Personality Disorders. Researchers and clinicians were forced to focus on many issues related to the field of personality and its disorders. This meant an immense impetus for research, both empirical and theoretical. Many recent developments are described in this book, as reviews or as original articles. This book also covers developments in Europe as well as in North America. Important questions still remain unanswered, such as: What is the relationship between the different clusters: A, B, & C? Are we talking about dimensions, categories, or typologies? What can be done for patients who have more than one personality disorder? Is a pro typical approach required? Consequently, is a multiconceptual approach in treatment and research required? The authors contribute to this discus­ sion and provide guidelines for further thinking in research and treatment planning. For clinicians, it is of major importance to know whether the disorder can be influ­ enced by treatment, and whether permanent change is really possible. A very impor­ tant question is whether a person indeed has a personality disorder, and how this diagnosis affects clinical practice.

I: Biological Foundations of Personality Disorders. - 1. Genetics of Personality Disorders. - 2. Psychobiology of Personality Disorders: Implications for the Clinic. - 3. The Implications of Recent Research on the Etiology and Stability of Personality and Personality Disorder for Treatment. - II: Psychological Foundations of Personality Disorders. - 4. Psychodynamic Research Can Help Us to Improve Diagnosis and Therapy for Personality Disorders: The Case of Defense Mechanisms. - 5. Attachment, the Development of the Self, and Its Pathology in Personality Disorders. - 6. Trauma and Personality. - 7. Adolescence and Personality Disorders: Current Perspectives on a Controversial Problem. - III: Diagnostic Models of Personality Disorders. - 8. Integrative Perspectives on the Personality Disorders. - 9. A Multidimensional Approach to Personality Disorders and Their Treatment. - 10. The Structure of DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder and Its Implications for Treatment. - 11. The Relationship between Anxiety Disorders and Personality Disorders: Prevalence Rates and Comorbidity Models. - IV: Treatment of Personality Disorders. - 12. Psychodiagnostics and Indications for Treatment in Cases of Personality Disorder: Some Pitfalls. - 13. The Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Borderline Patients. - 14. Functional Analysis of Borderline Personality Disorder Behavioral Criterion Patterns: Links to Treatment. - 15. Psychopharmacological Treatment of Personality Disorders: A Review. - 16. New Drugs in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. - 17. The Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Addiction. - 18. Pharmacotherapy for Patients with Personality Disorders: Experiences from a Group Analytic Treatment Program. - 19. A New Interpersonal Theory and the Treatment of Dependent Personality Disorder. -20. HIV Infection, Personality Structure, and Psychotherapeutic Treatment.