Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy

Lorna Smith Benjamin, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Utah and Founder of the Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy Clinic at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI). She has a small private practice, serves as a consultant at UNI, and gives workshops on psychotherapy with difficult cases.

• 1. Introduction and Overview2. Case Formulation3. Choosing Interventions4. Structural Analysis of Social Behavior: The Clarifying Lens5. Step 1: Collaboration 6. Step 2: Learning about Patterns, Where They Are From, and What They Are For7. Step 3: Blocking Maladaptive Patterns8. Step 4: Enabling the Will to Change9. Step 5: Learning New Patterns10. Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy in Clinical and Research Contexts

Essential reading for anyone interested in psychotherapy with 'difficult' cases. Benjamin's clearly articulated model of psychopathology and psychotherapeutic change processes integrates insights from interpersonal, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and attachment theory. Detailed clinical case material is provided throughout the book to illuminate key points. I have found this book extremely helpful in my clinical work as well as in my teaching. Students, clinical teachers, and experienced psychotherapists will be raving about this book for many years to come.--George Silberschatz, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, UCSF School of MedicineInterpersonal Reconstructive Therapy is a complex, but rewarding book which describes effective treatment strategies and techniques for working with ‘nonresponders' or patients with psychiatric conditions that were previously untreatable. Dr. Benjamin combines psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral theory to address dysfunctional patterns of behavior, while providing therapists with flow charts to make sound clinical interventions and facilitate effective outcomes.--Muriel Prince Warren, DSW, ACSW, Behavioral Science Book Service Advisory Board MemberAn astute and compassionate clinician, Dr. Benjamin fulfills our highest expectations as an insightful and sophisticated teacher of therapeutic science. Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy is a work of impeccable scholarship in which therapeutic complexities are assessed clearly and incisively, employing a set of concise principles. Benjamin brilliantly conceptualizes her groundbreaking model and illustrates this authoritative guide with fascinating clinical examples. With her well-articulated method of social structural analysis, she demonstrates a tool--a lens, as she terms it--that codifies and links biographic history and a patient's presenting problem. Elucidating her approach impressively and persuasively, Benjamin has written an illuminating text for thinkers, therapists, psychiatric residents, and clinical graduate students.--Theodore Millon, PhD, DSc, Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and PsychopathologyA practicing psychiatrist and educator, I have used earlier drafts of this book in training growing numbers of experienced clinicians. Like myself, my trainees have found IRT well worth learning. It provides strategies for conducting therapy in a focused, original way that is highly likely to result in constructive, stable change for many patients who were previously unresponsive to treatment. This book encapsulates Dr. Benjamin's decades of work to objectively define psychopathology and the components of effective psychotherapy. It offers an inherently wise, user-friendly articulation of central psychological concepts, with specific intervention guidelines and rich clinical examples. This is inspiring reading for experienced clinicians and a vital resource for teaching and training.--Kathleen Sigrist Levenick, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-MadisonClinicians have long been plagued with the dilemma of how to work with complicated and difficult-to-treat clients. Clinical experience and research tells us that even with our most effective interventions, symptom reduction is more difficult to bring about when dealing with nonresponders. In this clearly written, practice-oriented book, Benjamin provides us with a unique blend of clinical experience, clear thinking and balanced wisdom. Demonstrating a sophisticated integration of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy, Benjamin maintains that both self-discovery and self-management are required to bring about change. How this can be accomplished is clearly spelled out in this most important contribution to the field.--Marvin R. Goldfried, PhD, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony BrookLorna Smith Benjamin is a master clinician and teacher. She has written what now becomes the best available guide to the art and science of psychotherapy. Her interpersonal method is presented in such a clear and compelling manner that the book is an excellent introduction for the novice, but also a gold mine for the more experienced.--Allen J. Frances, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Duke UniversityLucidly written and clinically compelling, Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy helps graduate student therapists understand and intervene more effectively with their clients. In the best of the scientist-practitioner tradition, Benjamin flexibly integrates different theoretical approaches, and utilizes an attachment-informed perspective, to create this comprehensive, evidence-based approach. Completing an exit survey as they approached graduation, a number of my students reported that this was the most helpful text they had read in their graduate training. Wise and compassionate, this text is a gift to our field.--Edward Teyber, PhD, California State University, San Bernardino - This book provides one of the most creative and innovative contributions in many years to the conceptualization, understanding, and treatment of personality disorders. Dr. Benjamin wisely brings together and integrates with a sophisticated understanding a vast research literature with years of direct, intensive experience. Through following this manual, she offers systematic, pragmatic advice for clinicians involved in the potentially frustrating task of treating these personality disorders. --Psychotherapy Review, 8/24/2006Æ’Æ’ A major contribution to the theory and practice of psychotherapy....A most rewarding book to read. --Psychology and Psychotherapy, 8/24/2006Æ’Æ’ A master clinician, Benjamin has spent most of her career researching and treating the interpersonal processes of patients with personality disorders and other interpersonal problems....One of the more delightful aspects of the volume is Benjamin's masterful translation of complex and abstract theoretical concepts into simple, everyday language....It's hard to imagine many clinicians not advancing their own thinking and practices about working with their most difficult patients by reading this book. --Psychotherapy, 8/24/2006Æ’Æ’ [Benjamin] exhibits sound clinical judgment and is unafraid to tackle the most difficult and dangerous crises (including suicidal and homicidal behavior as well as psychotic experiences). She inspires confidence, and I would happily refer patients to her. --American Journal of Psychiatry, 8/24/2006