Resistant. Oppositional. Borderline. Mental health professionals commonly use such terms to describe patients who, despite expressing a strong desire to reduce their emotional distress, repeatedly reject or ignore their therapist's interpretations andadvice. When this continues session after session, both patient and therapist end up feeling stuck and frustrated.This book offers an alternative interpretation of patients' apparent resistance, termed pathological ambivalence, which is rooted in early experience, biological functioning, and psychological narrative. The concept of pathological ambivalence draws from several established theoretical perspectives in explaining why some people seem to sabotage their progress in psychotherapy and how some therapists become unintentional enablers.

Concise, yet without skimping on information, this book reviews current theory and research, addresses important diagnostic issues, and provides salient details in a number of key areas related to GAD. Assessment procedures and treatment planning are covered, along with the latest therapy outcome data, including findings on newer therapies. Also detailed are specific cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, including cognitive strategies, psychoeducation, and anxiety monitoring.

Internationally renowned psychoanalytic theorist and clinician Dr. Otto Kernberg here examines the success and failure of sexual love in couples, from adolescence to old age. Dr. Kernberg considers both "normal" and pathological relationships, including the role of narcissism, masochism, and aggression in each. The result expands the boundaries of our current understanding of love relations.

The past five years have witnessed dramatic advances in research on pathological gambling -- a diagnosis often overlooked by clinicians who are unaware not only of the personal and social consequences of pathological gambling, but also of the possible treatment options. Today, clinicians can choose from an array of treatment options to substantially improve the lives of patients with this disabling illness. Eloquently attesting to this extraordinary progress, this remarkable clinician's guide comprises the most extensive coverage on public health, clinical characteristics and treatment, psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, and interventions for adolescents, adults, and older adults. Written by the world's leading researchers on psychiatric aspects of gambling, this truly comprehensive volume discusses how to diagnose pathological gambling and provides the tools to do so. Here, 32 experts detail the clinical phenomenology, etiology, and treatment of pathological gambling, highlighting the current clinical approaches most likely to lead to early identification, symptom remission, and improvement maintenance. Useful appendixes provide specific tests, scales, and diagnostic criteria following four major sections of the book: Public Health and Epidemiology discusses prevalence and definitions of recreational, problem, and pathological gambling; the relationship between the different levels of gambling severity; and gambling's effects on societal, familial, and individual health and well-being. Clinical Characteristics covers the symptoms and sequelae of pathological gambling and the differences among adolescents, older adults, and men and women, and shows that pathological gambling -- rather than being categorized as a single disorder -- shares important features with many disorders, among them obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, affective spectrum disorders, addiction, and impulse-control disorder. Etiology details the realms of both psychology (behavioral, cognitive, and dispositional theories) and neurobiology (noradrenergic, serotonergic, dopaminergic, and opioidergic systems as well as familial and inherited factors) to explain the behavior of pathological gambling -- knowledge that may prove useful in understanding a range of addictive and impulsive disorders. Prevention and Treatment emphasizes the vital role of the clinician in prevention efforts, including a prevention strategy tailored specifically for adolescents and young adults; discusses a variety of behavioral and pharmacological interventions for patients including self-help and professional-based interventions for family members; and concludes with assessments useful in diagnosing pathological gambling and monitoring symptom change. Psychiatrists, psychiatric researchers, and other mental health care professionals will welcome this book as their most up-to-date source for invaluable knowledge about and research from the world's recognized experts on pathological gambling.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide presents a model of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and its treatment that is based on contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory as developed by the leading thinker in the field, Otto Kernberg, M.D., who is also one of the authors of this insightful manual. The model is supported and enhanced by material on current phenomenological and neurobiological research and is grounded in real-world cases that deftly illustrate principles of intervention in ways that mental health professionals can use with their patients. The book first provides clinicians with a model of borderline pathology that is essential for expert assessment and treatment planning and then addresses the empirical underpinnings and specific therapeutic strategies of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). From the chapter on clinical assessment, the clinician learns how to select the type of treatment on the basis of the level of personality organization, the symptoms the patient experiences, and the areas of compromised functioning. In order to decide on the type of treatment, the clinician must examine the patient's subjective experience (such as symptoms of anxiety or depression), observable behaviors (such as investments in relationships and deficits in functioning), and psychological structures (such as identity, defenses, and reality testing). Next, the clinician learns to establish the conditions of treatment through negotiating a verbal treatment contract or understanding with the patient. The contract defines the responsibilities of each of the participants and defines what the reality of the therapeutic relationship is. Techniques of treatment interventions and tactics to address particularly difficult clinical challenges are addressed next, equipping the therapist to employ the four primary techniques of TFP (interpretation, transference analysis, technical neutrality, and use of countertransference) and setting the stage for and guiding the proper use of those techniques within the individual session. What to expect in the course of long-term treatment to ameliorate symptoms and to effect personality change is covered, with sections on the early, middle, and late phases of treatment. This material prepares the clinician to deal with predictable phases, such as tests of the frame, impulse containment, movement toward integration, episodes of regression, and termination. Finally, the text is accompanied by supremely instructive online videos that demonstrate a variety of clinical situations, helping the clinician with assessment and modeling critical therapeutic strategies. The book recognizes that each BPD patient presents a unique treatment challenge. Grounded in the latest research and rich with clinical insight, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide will prove indispensable to mental health professionals seeking to provide thoughtful, effective care to these patients.

A groundbreaking book about why the one thing we all fear—ambivalence—is the one thing we must accept to find lasting love. If Love Could Think is an entertaining and practical book that addresses with warmth and intelligence the age-old question relevant to any stage of a relationship: why does love go wrong, and what can we do to make it right? After many years of treating patients with relationship problems, psychologist Alon Gratch has identified seven common patterns of failed love. These patterns include, for example, narcissistic love, when a person has so idealized the partner and the relationship that they can’t possibly continue to measure up; one-way love, when a person loves someone who doesn’t return that love; triangular love, when a third party, be it a mother, an affair, or a job is involved in the relationship; and forbidden love, the kind of relationship that is generally off-limits, such as when a teacher dates a student. In If Love Could Think, Gratch shows us that all of these patterns stem from one fundamental problem—our own ambivalence. With his trademark combination of depth and humor, and using many individual stories as engaging examples, Gratch walks us through the ways we get stuck in these patterns. In each case we are looking for perfect or ideal love. Every pattern creates an obstacle so we don’t have to face our own ambivalence about the relationship or the other person. But humans aren’t perfect, so no matter how wonderful love can be, there is no such thing as pure love. Ambivalence implies the existence not only of love but also of anger, disapproval, or disappointment. As Dr. Gratch shows, there are really only two choices: accept ambivalence as part of any loving relationship, or continue to repeat the patterns of illusory love. Happily, using a simple yet powerful three-step approach, If Love Could Think helps readers to use their own minds to break these patterns of failed relationships and find real and lasting love.

Abnormal and clinical psychology courses are offered in psychology programs at universities worldwide, but the most recent major encyclopedia on the topic was published many years ago. Although general psychology handbooks and encyclopedias include essays on abnormal and clinical psychology, such works do not provide students with an accessible reference for understanding the full scope of the field. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, a 7-volume, A-Z work (print and electronic formats), will be such an authoritative work. Its more than 1,400 entries will provide information on fundamental approaches and theories, various mental health disorders, assessment tools and psychotherapeutic interventions, and the social, legal, and cultural frameworks that have contributed to debates in abnormal and clinical psychology. Key features include: 1,400 signed articles contained in 7 volumes and available in choice of print and/or electronic formats Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping related entries thematically Back matter includes a Chronology, Resource Guide, Bibliography, and detailed Index Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross-References to related entries The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross-References between and among entries all combine to provide robust search-and-browse features in the electronic version.