Essentials of Personality Disorders draws on core material from The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Personality Disorders, covering the essentials of the topic in an abridged version and including the recent growth of knowledge in the neurosciences and new technologies being used to tackle the treatment of complex psychiatric disorders. In this volume, 35 international authorities -- all contributors to the parent text -- offer a balance of theory, research, and treatment geared toward ready application to a busy practice.

Essentials of Personality Disorders provides half of the chapters found in the larger work, with a focus on material that is both up-to-date and useful to practicing clinicians. It first reviews the evolution of the personality disorders component in successive editions of DSM, along with major theories that have influenced thinking about their nature. A succinct guide to clinical evaluation then presents the defining features of DSM-IV-TR personality disorders, complementary approaches to clinical assessment, patterns of Axis I and Axis II disorder comorbidity, and clinical courses and outcomes. Chapters on etiology reflect the most recent data on epidemiology, progress in understanding underlying neurobiology, a developmental perspective on recognizing early patterns of behavior suggestive of future disorders, and the relevance of childhood experiences -- particularly stress -- to the development of maladaptive personality traits. Eleven chapters on treatment then offer guidelines for determining the appropriate intensity of treatment for patients, followed by a presentation of therapeutic options and considerations ranging from group treatment to boundary issues. Included in this section: A chapter on the application of mentalization-based therapy in treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder that offers an approach to attachment via a model that views this disorder as dysfunction in self-regulation. Core elements of dialectical behavior therapy, including both individual and group interventions to address parasuicidal behaviors. Emphasis on the necessity of explicitly considering alliance building across all treatment modalities. Recommendations for negotiating collaborative treatments, taking into account patients engaged in several modalities at the same time. Evidence of the association of suicidal behavior and personality disorders, examining risk factors and discussing clinical approaches to management.

In a concluding chapter, the volume editors and experts in this field summarize current controversies, look ahead to DSM-V, and speculate about future directions. Presenting the essentials of a definitive text, Essentials of Personality Disorders is a practical volume that puts critical information on these vexing conditions at your fingertips.