Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives [Hardcover]

Albert Ellis (Author), Mike Abrams (Author), Lidia Dengelegi Abrams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1412914221 | ISBN-13: 978-1412914222 | Publication Date: August 14, 2008 | Edition: 1

Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives is the groundbreaking, final text written by Albert Ellis, long considered the founder of cognitive behavioral therapies. The book provides students with supporting and contradictory evidence for the development of personality theories through time. Without condemning the founding theorists who came before him, Ellis builds on more than a century of psychological research to re-examine the theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler while taking an equally critical look at modern, research-based theories, including his own.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Finally, an empirically based, critical examination of personality theories." (Richard W. Williams, Ph.D. )

About the Author

Mike Abrams, Ph.D., has been a practicing clinician in New Jersey for more than 20 years. He is also on the graduate counseling faculty of William Paterson University and is a fellow and supervisor of the Albert Ellis Institute. Dr. Abrams studied and worked closely with Dr. Ellis, with whom he published several books, chapters, and articles. Dr. Abrams has received commendations from the New Jersey governor, the Hudson County executive, and the Jersey City mayor for his volunteer efforts. His commitment to pro-bono work includes his being among the first psychologists to counsel people with AIDS at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in the early 1980s. Dr. Abrams has degrees from Queens College, Brooklyn College, the Graduate Center of City University of New York, and New York University. He also did postdoctoral study at Columbia University and the Albert Ellis Institute. Prior to becoming a psychologist, he earned an MBA and worked in organizations such as the New York Stock Exchange, Merrill Lynch, and Citicorp.

Albert Ellis, Ph.D., was the intellectual founder of all clinical approaches that now fall under the rubric of cognitive behavior therapy, and he is generally regarded as one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. His Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is now practiced and taught throughout the world, along with the numerous similar therapies that it spawned. Dr. Ellis wrote 70 books and more than 600 journal articles and monographs. At the Albert Ellis Institute, which he founded and managed for more than half a century, he personally trained or supervised thousands of clinicians. As a practicing psychologist, he personally helped more than 10,000 people lead less painful and more productive lives. Dr. Ellis received dozens of awards from organizations like the American Psychological Association and American Counseling Association for his tireless work in advancing psychology, counseling, and social work. When he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947, he had already established himself as the most renowned sex therapist in the first half of the 20th century, and he then went on to revolutionize the field of clinical psychology. Dr. Ellis died July 24, 2007, while this book was in the final stages of preparation.

Lidia Dengelegi Abrams, Ph.D., is the executive director of Resolve Community Counseling Center, Inc., a private, nonprofit mental health agency. She also maintains a private clinical psychology practice and consults for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, the New Jersey Office of Parental Representation, and the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Dr. Abrams has co-authored one other book with Dr. Ellis and has published research in the areas of AIDS education and prevention, eating disorders, and comparative psychotherapy efficacy. For several years, she conducted research on health care utilization at Rutgers University’s Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. She has a master’s degree in psychology from New York University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Temple University. She is a fellow and supervisor of the Albert Ellis Institute. Dr. Abrams has taught at New Jersey City University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 720 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412914221
• ISBN-13: 978-1412914222
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

(1913-2007) Albert Ellis held M.A and Ph.D. degrees in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the pioneering form of the modern Cognitive Behavior therapies. He was the president of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York, where he practiced individual and group psychotherapy, supervised and trained psychotherapists, and presented many talks and workshops at the Institute and throughout the world. He published over seven hundred articles and more than sixty books on psychotherapy, marital and family therapy, and sex therapy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellis and his co-authors did an outstanding job, August 29, 2008

By 

Paul Cantwell (NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives (Hardcover)

The people at Sage were kind enough to give me a review copy at APA and I was pleasantly surprised. This is by far the best I have read by Ellis and among the better texts that I have reviewed. Despite its sometimes cynical tone when discussing some classic figures in personality, it is very balanced and among the most comprehensive in the field. The book is exceptionally well researched and it succeeds in clarifying many complex topics that many other texts avoid or cover superficially. I will likely adopt this book for the Spring semester.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read this textbook and actually enjoyed it., August 28, 2008

By 

C. Music "Psych Grad" (Newark, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives (Hardcover)

It covers everything in detail and still is a pleasure to read. With two degrees in psychology, I learned a great deal from this readable and entertaining book. If you want to learn about personality, human development, clinical psych, this is the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars adopting this book, October 28, 2009

By 

Dale Floody "Balanced Positive Psychology" (wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives (Paperback)

very comprehensive, informative and entertaining introduction to personality theories. i've taught Introduction to Personality Theories a number of times over the years, and have adopted this text for the course next semester. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with my students.