Cognitive Therapy Of Personality Disorders [Hardcover]

Aaron T. Beck (Author), Arthur Freeman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898624347 | ISBN-13: 978-0898624342 | Publication Date: August 3, 1990

Although they are a difficult population to work with, clients suffering from personality disorders can respond to treatment. Cognitive therapy, an approach that has been demonstrated to be effective with a broad range of clinical problems, has also been applied to this diagnostic group. This volume has grown out of that therapeutic work, and focuses on diagnostic criteria, cognitive conceptualizations of the personality disorders, cognitive treatment strategies, and techniques for developing a treatment program. Clinical data, case description, and clinical vignettes illustrate the various problems and interventions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is another classic book in the Beckian' style--scholarly and eminently readable, a superb and much needed treatment guide. Breaking new ground again in this unusually challenging work, Beck, Freeman and their associates have produced an exceptionally useful handbook, not only for those who follow in the cognitive-behavioral tradition, but for all therapists who seek to enrich their insights and methodologies for working with the personality disorders.
It is of no small import that the text is a pleasure to read. Clear both in thought and language, it is entirely free of the jargon and obscurities that litter this field. In a matter of particular relevance to my own work, I was especially pleased with the chapter on the avoidant personality; it is the first detailed and sensitively drawn examination of therapeutic issues with this highly troubled group of patients. All in all, the Beck-Freeman volume is a major milestone in the progress of therapy for this large class of difficult-to-treat disorders.'--Theodore Millon, Ph.D.,
University of Miami and Harvard Medical School

About the Author

Aaron T. Beck, MD, is University Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the founder of cognitive therapy. He has published more than 20 books and over 540 articles in professional and scientific journals. Dr. Beck is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the American Psychological Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Psychiatric Association Distinguished Service Award, the Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award for Research in Neuropsychiatry, and the Institute of Medicine's Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health and Gustav O. Lienhard Award. He is President of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Honorary President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press (August 3, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898624347
• ISBN-13: 978-0898624342
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,218,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very well organized and researched, November 4, 2001

By 

Brett Anderson (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy Of Personality Disorders (Hardcover)

I love Becks work in the field of Cognitive therapy. I have long had the trouble of finding a modality that effectivly works with personality disorders. I bought this book in an attempt to bridge my knowledge from purely Axis I to include Axis II disorders.

The book goes through each and every personality disorder one at a time. This made it very easy to research one specific problem without having to sift through pages and pages of irrelevant information for the task at hand.

Within each chapter Beck defines the typical automatic thoughts, or faulty reasoning, that is commonly associated with the personality disorders. He then gives broad treatment plans and goals to deal with the symptoms.

Beck is very well organized and succienct. You will walk away from even a short reading of this book feeling more confident and better equipped to deal with the disorders without the usually doubts that maybe you didnt get the whole gist of what the author was trying to say.

I felt that this was extremely well done. I also appreciate that Beck does not promise more then he can deliver and he is the first one to say that outcomes for Axis II disorders are still poor compared with Axis I.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treating clients with personality disorders..., March 19, 2000

By 

Belinda J Chaffins (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy Of Personality Disorders (Hardcover)

This is a great book! It has a lot of practical information on how to approach treatment for a client who has a personality disorder. Included are case examples and problems that a therapist may have in treating clients. Additionally, the book includes specific intervention strategies and recommendations on how to develop a good working relationship. This is especially important, because a client's interpersonal problems will be played out during session with the therapist. I have used the information in this book to anticipate and prepare for specific issues that have arisen in session.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very practical, directive strategy, October 10, 2005

By 

Jennifer K. Paweleck-Bellingrodt, Psy.D. (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy Of Personality Disorders (Hardcover)

Beck has done a great job describing a very pragmatic, common sense cognitive-behavioral methodology for the treatment of challenging personalities. The research he has done builds confidence in practitioners interested in and using these methods. Each personality style is well-described, and several strategies are provided for addressing these problematic dispositions. The book is very well-organized and easy to read. Assignments and case examples further add to the utility of this text.