Routledge Personality Pathology: Developmental Perspectives

Personality pathology is rooted in early development and affects a wide range of affects, behaviours and cognitive processes. Every year thousands of articles about the etiology pf personality pathology are published in various professional or scientific reviews. There is a growing distance between the generalist's practice and our increasingly precise scientific knowledge. However, no one can read everything and therefore, it behoves us to ask ourselves the following questions: is the most recent better than what came before? Is the measurable and demonstrable necessarily clinically interesting? Must what interests the clinician be measured and proved? Whilst theory and clinical research are becoming increasingly precise, innumerable socio-economic forces are pressing for a simplification in clinical practice. "Shrinks" are fashionable! They are everywhere: in the workplace, on television, on the radio. Review "Delisle offers a survey of issues in the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders from a developmental perspective he's honed over the years working with object-relations and relational psychotherapy. He's written for who he describes as a generalist trying to keep apprised of varied clinical practice. Topics include developmental issues in the etiology of personality pathologies, an overview of object-relations and relational psychotherapy, and issues in specific areas. In these areas (attachment, self-esteem, eroticism) he offers a chapter surveying the etiology and presentation of the issue and another on treating it. A final chapter looks at developmental crises in adult life and specific developmental tasks that can trigger the issues examined earlier in the book."-- (04/01/2012) "For more than three decades, Gilles Delisle has been an invaluable figure of Gestalt therapy in Quebec. He has developed a sophisticated, systematic, and empirically supported model of psychotherapy combining Gestalt therapy and the richness of object relation theory. Since 1995 he has taught Object Relational Gestalt therapy in several countries around the world. In this outstanding book, Gilles Delisle has succeeded in the monumental task of integrating, in an original, unique, and clinically inspiring way, the theoretical and clinical contributions of leading authors in personality pathology. The result is a compelling new approach in the treatment of personality disorders."--Marc-Simon Drouin, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology "This book summarizes Gilles Delisle's original research of nearly twenty years trying to integrate a very original synthesis of Gestalt approach and object relation theory. He analyses many researches of psychoanalysts and theoriticians of attachment theory, quoting Freud, Klein, Winnicott, Fairnberg, Kohut, Kernberg, Bowlby, and many others. He is also trying to integrate contemporary research in neurosciences. So it is really a very new original contribution to psychotherapy."--Serge Ginger, founder of Paris School of Gestalt and of the International Federation of Gestalt Training Organisations; Honorary President "This is a beautifully crafted book and a major scholarly addition to the existing literature on personality disorders. Gilles Delisle offers a theoretically rich, compassionate framework for understanding the complex matrix of factors which contribute to personality pathology. Drawing on years of research and a rich seam of clinical experience, Delisle's in-depth case studies and transcripts illuminate the significance and effectiveness of a relational approach to this therapeutic work. This engaging, accessible text is a breath of fresh air and an essential read for all practising counsellors and psychotherapists."--Belinda Harris, PhD, UKCP Psychotherapist, Associate Professor About the Author Gilles Delisle