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Understanding Mechanisms of Change in Psychotherapies for Personality Disorders

Author(s) : Ueli Kramer, Author(s) : Kenneth N. Levy, Author(s) : Shelley McMain

Reviews and Endorsements

Beautifully integrating research findings with rich case examples, this engaging book yields clinically relevant, actionable principles to guide therapists as they navigate critical choice points in treatment. The respectful way in which the three authors reflect on their own and each other’s approaches is an exemplary model of the kind of nuanced, thoughtful dialogue that can move the field of psychotherapy forward.
Catherine F. Eubanks, PhD, Professor, Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, United States

This book provides a clinically sophisticated and empirically sound overview of the treatment for personality disorders. It goes beyond the knee-jerk selection of a treatment package for a diagnostic category. Instead, it provides transtheoretical ways of personalizing the intervention with sound case formulation. What is particularly unique is that the authors go from the therapist’s goals, to interventions to achieve these goals, then to the change processes that are behind these interventions. This is a major contribution to the field as few, if any, therapy guidelines with this population have presented this conceptualization. This could turn out to be a classic in the field—the go-to book on treating personality disorders.
Marvin R. Goldfried, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States

Great gains have been made in developing effective psychotherapies for personality disorders. What we still don’t know is how and why these therapies work. In this cleverly organized and clearly written book, Kramer and colleagues provide an essential and stimulating synthesis of the most important mechanisms of change in psychotherapy for personality disorders. It is a must-read for clinicians wanting to better articulate their impact, and for researchers wishing to track it more precisely.
Carla Sharp, PhD, John and Rebecca Moores Professor; Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, CLASS; and Director of the Developmental Psychopathology Lab and ADAPT clinic, University of Houston

This book represents an important advance in the treatment of personality disorders: the movement beyond narrow adherence to particular “brand-name” therapies. The authors—all leading figures in personality disorder treatment and research—describe their understanding of how therapy can best work for particular patients from three distinct theoretical orientations, focusing on several important domains of functioning and moving between different levels of evidence. Through detailed clinical case examples, the authors show how various theoretical and evidence-based perspectives can converge and complement one another to maximize benefit for the individual patient. This is essential reading for any clinician who wants to become more effective in their work with patients who suffer from personality disorders. The authors address a wide range of clinical challenges and walk the reader through their thinking in how to proceed, focusing on core principles and mechanisms of change at every turn. Both early-career and seasoned clinicians will appreciate this accessible window into the therapeutic process. Moreover, the book provides a sophisticated, evidence-based rationale for long-held clinical wisdom: that psychotherapy works best when therapists can integrate from different models and personalize their interventions to the individual patient.
David Kealy, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychotherapy Program & Institute of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada