3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mysteries Solved: Personality Guided Therapy ++, March 25, 2010
This review is from: Moderating Severe Personality Disorders: A Personalized Psychotherapy Approach (Paperback)
I've had minor difficulties with what sometimes seems to me to be his over-simplification of the therapies involved in the treatment of the PDs. I've had similarly =minor= difficulties with his explanations of their supposed structure. Regardless, there's no question that when it comes to Axis II, =no= one knows this stuff like Teddy Millon.
I found it easy to equate Millon's =exhaustive= (but fascinating) "characters" with the experiential learning, reward and reinforcement and affect-and-belief-driven appraisal systems that underlie these culturally guided constructions of ego defense "complexes."
The reader should find no problems marrying Millon's views to those of Aaron Beck and Arthur Freeman, John Clarkin and Mark Lenzenweger, John Livesley, Michael Stone, or the American Psychoanalytic Association's =PDM=. Those who see personality through developmental lenses like those provided by Bowlby, Baumrind, Erikson and Paiget should have no problems here.
That these personas are simply extreme versions of George Kelly's mid-century model of "personal constructs" comes through quickly and clearly.
MSPD:APPA is the first of a two-volume set updating the authors' monumental =Personality Guided Therapy= (1999). Fairly much everything from PGT has been lifted and/or updated, and new sections (with new PDs, including "hypomanic") have been added. At less than a c-note for two newer books, I know of no better way to go for those who want to dig into Axis II for the first time, as well as take a second run at it after having been through PGT.
Well-formatted, well-organized, easy to understand (even for BA/BS-level psych majors), solidly grounded in the major theoretical schools of thoughts, and aligned with the best, evidence-supported treatments, I found MSPD:APPA to be every bit as much of a hand-in-glove fit with my direct experience with patients as I found PGT several years ago.
If I could have it my way, I'd ask for more depth in the explanation of the typical developmental-etiological influences for each of the disorders. In my view, at least, all of them can be seen as defensive responses to early life events of fairly specific types usually built upon role modeling by significant others of equally specific types.
The therapist who understands that and looks for elements like authoritarian, neglectful or over-permissive parenting (see Baumrind); sexual objectification (even if it isn't outright incest; see Herman, Goodman and Van der Kolk); confusing role modeling by a parent with diffused identity (see Kluft, Puttnam, Gunderson and Masterson) or forced foreclosure of normal childhood exploration and experimentation (see Ellis, Erikson and Gordon) will be able to use that knowledge to develop honest expressions of empathy that win patient trust during the crucial contemplation and consideration stage of recovery.
A word of caution: Many who read Millon's work start to see =themselves= with some alarm. Most of us will have presentations similar to those described here under specific forms of stress, but Millon and Grossman are speaking of "characteristic extremes" here.
That said, the therapist who wants to clear up his own issues before climbing into the countertransferential hot seat is likely to experience a lot of identification, affective response and opportunity for processing. A journey with Teddy is always an opportunity for personal growth.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good choice for both patient and psychologist, October 3, 2009
This review is from: Moderating Severe Personality Disorders: A Personalized Psychotherapy Approach (Paperback)
I found the material within both personally helpful and professionally relevant. "My" particular chapter was clear and comprehensive. My only regret? That the disorder I was seeking information about was only 1 small part of this extensive exploration of all personality disorders. Definitely a cost-effective first choice.
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