Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach: Theory, Research, and Differential Diagnosis (Hardcover)

by James Kleiger (Author) "The subject of thought disorder and the Rorschach test create a natural harmony..." (more)
Key Phrases: combinative thinking, thought disorder scores, confabulatory thinking, Delta Index, Schizophrenia Index, Pauling's Rorschach (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Psychiatric disorders, however defined, affect thought organization. Indeed, the most severe of these conditions, the schizophrenias and the major affective disorders, can be recognized by tell-tale ways in which thinking is derailed and disorganized. The most powerful clues to differential diagnosis of psychoses, we have learned, lie in the nature of thought organization. Clinicians and researchers will treasure James Kleiger's thorough and dispassionately critical survey, which will provide them with a strategic perspective on diagnostic issues in this vitally important domain. Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach is a valuable and much-needed resource for clinical and research inquiries." -- Philip S. Holzman, Ph.D., Esther and Sidney R. Rabb Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Harvard University

Psychiatric disorders, however defined, affect thought organization. Indeed, the most severe of these conditions, the schizophrenias and the major affective disorders, can be recognized by tell-tale ways in which thinking is derailed and disorganized. The most powerful clues to differential diagnosis of psychoses, we have learned, lie in the nature of thought organization. Clinicians and researchers will treasure James Kleigers thorough and dispassionately critical survey, which will provide them with a strategic perspective on diagnostic issues in this vitally important domain. Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach is a valuable and much-needed resource for clinical and research inquiries.

- Philip S. Holzman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Harvard University

James Kleiger has produced a superb piece of scholarship that extends from thorough coverage of theory and research to useful guidelines for clinical practice. This clearly written and extensively referenced book provides a storehouse of information concerning the nature of disordered thinking, its manifestations in Rorschach responses, and the possible diagnostic implications of a thought-disordered Rorschach protocol. Rorschach researcher and practitioners alike will read it with pleasure and profit.

- Irving B. Weiner, Ph.D., University of South Florida

James Kleiger has produced a superb piece of scholarship that extends from thorough coverage of theory and research to useful guidelines for clinical practice. This clearly written and extensively referenced book provides a storehouse of information concerning the nature of disordered thinking, its manifestations in Rorschach responses, and the possible diagnostic implications of a thought-disordered Rorschach protocol. Rorschach researcher and practitioners alike will read it with pleasure and profit." -- Irving B. Weiner, Ph.D., University of South Florida

Product Description
From its very inception, Hermann Rorschach's test has had the startling feature of eliciting clear and unmistakable evidence of disordered thinking in certain patients. Indeed, for many clinicians a central virtue of Rorschach assessment lies in its very ability to uncover and clarify underlying psychotic and psychotic-like mental processes.

In Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach, a comprehensive synthesis of existing research and theory, James Kleiger provides a thoroughly up-to-date text that covers the entire range of clinical and diagnostic issues associated with the phenomenon of disordered thinking as revealed on the Rorschach. Kleiger guides the reader through the history of psychiatric and psychoanalytic conceptualizations of the nature and significance of different kinds of disordered thinking and their relevance to understanding personality structure and differential diagnosis. He then moves on to thorough reviews of the respective contributions of David Rapaport, Robert Holt, Philip Holzman, and John Exner in conceptualizing and scoring disordered thinking on the Rorschach. These synopses are followed by an equally fascinating examination of less well known research conceptualizations, which, taken together, help clarify the basic interpretive conundrums besetting the major systems.

Finally, having brought the reader to a full understanding of systematic exploration to date, Kleiger enters into a detailed analysis of the phenomenological and psychodynamic aspects of disordered thinking per se. Even experienced clinicians will find themselves challenged to reconceptualize such familiar categories as confabulatory or combinative thinking in a manner that leads not only to new diagnostic precision, but also to a richer understanding of the varieties of thought disturbances with their equally variable therapeutic and prognostic implications.

Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach is an extraordinary text for students, scholars, researchers, and clinicians alike. Kleiger has succeeded in summarizing a wealth of experience pertaining to the rigorous empirical detection and classification of disordered thinking. Equally impressive, he has taken full advantage of the Rorschach as an assessment instrument able to capture the richness of personality and thus capable of providing a unique clinical window into those crucially important differences in the quality of thought that patients may evince.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: The Analytic Press (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881632325
• ISBN-13: 978-0881632323
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #562,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valued & impressive contribution to psychoanalytical studies, January 4, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Disordered Thinking And The Rorschach: Theory Research And Differential Diagnosis presents a comprehensive synthesis of existing research and theory on the use of the Rorschach as a diagnostic instrument. James Klieger is Director of Postdoctoral Psychology Training at the Menninger Clinic, and a teaching associate at the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis and brings to bear his considerable experience and expertise in covering the entire range of clinical and diagnostic issues associated with the phenomenon of disordered thinking as revealed on the Rorschach. Kleiger presents the history of psychiatric and psychoanalytic conceptualizations of the nature and significance of different kinds of disordered thinking and their relevance to understanding personality structure and differential diagnosis. The then reviews the contributions of David Rapaport, Robert Holt, Philip Holzman, and John Exner in conceptualizing and scoring disordered thinking on the Rorschach. Kleiger finishes with a detailed analysis of the phenomenological and psychodynamic aspects of disordered thinking itself. A major work of impeccable scholarship, Disordered Thinking And The Rorschach is an valued and impressive contribution to psychoanalytical studies and a highly recommended addition to professional and academic psychology and psychoanalysis reference collections.

5.0 out of 5 stars Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach, December 3, 1999

By	Kirby Pope, M.D. (Topeka, Kansas) - See all my reviews

I greatly admire the book "Disordered thinking and the Rorschach" by James H. Kleiger. I am writing this as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst. Dr. Kleiger does a masterful job of elucidating just exactly what is meant by the term "thought disorder" and cleared away for me the murkiness that has surrounded the term. His introductory chapters lay a solid and interesting foundation for a scholarly tour-de-force and broad-ranging examination of how the Rorschach is useful in helping to understand the different processes that underlie various disorders of thinking. He values historical contributions and shows how these are relevant to current thinking. I left the book with an enormous improvement in my understanding of the Rorschach itself - a test I have wanted to know more about as I have found it to yield valuable information when utilized judiciously by competent examiners - as well as the different types and wide variety of thinking disturbances people may struggle with. I recommend it to my Psychiatric and Psychoanalytic colleagues who would appreciate a well-written and comprehensive examination of these concerns. It definitely expanded my knowledge base on disordered styles of thinking. Kirby Pope, M.D.