Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders

Aaron T. Beck is winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Nursing Centers Consortium! This landmark work was the first to present a cognitive framework for understanding and treating personality disorders. Now Aaron T. Beck and his distinguished team of co-authors present an extensively rewritten and updated second edition, integrating over a decade's worth of tremendous advances in theory and practice. Part 1 lays out the conceptual, empirical, and clinical foundations of effective work with this highly challenging population. Cognitive aspects of Axis II disorders are reviewed and general treatment principles delineated, with new chapters covering assessment procedures and issues in the therapeutic relationship. Part 2 details the process of cognitive-behavioral therapy for each of the specific disorders. Restructured to follow a consistent format, chapters review the current clinical literature; guide the therapist through diagnosis and case conceptualization; and demonstrate the nuts and bolts of cognitive intervention. Richly illustrated with expanded case material, the second edition also includes a wealth of new information on therapeutic impasses and how to overcome them.