This book is the second volume of an interdisciplinary study, chiefly one of philosophy and psychology, which concerns personality, especially the abnormal in terms of states of aloneness, primarily that of the negative emotional isolation customarily known as loneliness. Other states of aloneness investigated include solitude, reclusiveness, seclusion, desolation, isolation, and what the author terms “aloneliness,” “alonism,” “lonism,” and “lonerism.” Insofar as this study most explicitly focuses on abnormal personalities, it employs the general and specific definitions of personality aberrations as formulated by the American Psychiatric Association in its latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The author views personality as preeminently comprised of the individual's interpersonal relationships. Unlike the DSM-IV, he proposes that people with personality disorders not only possibly but necessarily manifest deviancy regarding interpersonal functioning via serious shortcomings in shared inwardness, paramountly reciprocated intimacy. This work also engages in an analysis of five social factors that are conducive to predisposing, precipitating, and maintaining negative kinds of personality and aloneness. The author has formed these factors into an acronym titled SCRAM since when they are present, intimacy scurries away and in its absence, loneliness and other sorts of unwanted aloneness scamper in and fill the person with unhappiness via, for instance, sadness and self-worthlessness. The constituents of SCRAM are the following social illnesses: Successitis (for example, the fixation on fame and fortune), Capitalitis (greed-driven, unfettered capitalism), Rivalitis (competitivitis), Atomitis (hyper-individualism), and Materialitis (for example, the anti-spirituality of consumeritis). In sum, this book provides a different perspective on personality via the lenses of various types of aloneness and their lack of public and private intimacy, especially love.

Through dozens of tables, illustrative figures, and real-life case examples, established experts in the field, as well as a new generation of scientists, examine clinical concepts; risk factors for and impact of personality disorders; treatment options (including a new chapter on early identification of borderline psychopathology in children); special populations; and future directions for the field.

Six percent of people in North America will develop borderline personality disorder (BPD) in their lifetime, and about 46% of them will have alcohol use disorder (AUD) at the same time. Alcohol use exacerbates the symptoms of both diseases, rendering treatment more challenging and increasing the risk of suicide. Integrated treatments have been lacking. Good Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder meets the urgent need for such an integrated approach. It provides clearly articulated descriptions of both BPD and AUD, outlining clinical patterns and how to diagnose them with confidence. Relying on general psychiatric principles with which most clinicians are already familiar, as well as up-to-date standards of care for both BPD and AUD, the handbook pays particular attention to areas of potential synergy, providing clinical logic for addressing complex, real-world cases. Topics include the following: • Progress assessment, psychoeducation, and goal setting;• Managing suicidality and nonsuicidal self-harm;• Pharmacotherapy;• Multimodal treatments, including mutual-help groups and family intervention; and• Level-of-care considerations. The authors stress that, in the absence of evidence-based manualized therapy for treating BPD and AUD simultaneously, clinicians already have the tools to increase treatment retention, reduce the risk of suicide and death, and provide a sensible road map in the face of interpersonal, behavioral, and emotional challenges inherent to recovery for both conditions.

Case Formulation for Personality Disorders provides clinical guidance on how to build effective treatment plans for patients presenting with personality disorders. Anchored within a disorder-specific approach, the present volume reviews the evidence base of case formulation methodology. The book takes an integrative and differentiated approach to case formulation, with multiple methods of case formulation, all specifically adapted to the psychotherapy of personality disorders, illustrated with many case examples. - Provides individualized assessment and measurement in practice - Uses 18 case formulation methods for treating personality disorders - Identifies evidence-based effective treatment - Includes real life case examples

Loneliness is among the most common distresses. In one survey, a quarter of Americans interviewed said that they had suffered from loneliness within the past few weeks. Yet for a condition so pervasive, loneliness has received little professional attention. Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation brings together papers which attempt to capture the phenomena of loneliness with case materials that illuminate the descriptive and theoretical acccounts. It is organized into seven sections, covering: explanations for the neglect of loneliness, and an attept to describe the condition; mechanisms underlying some forms of loneliness; a discussion of situations in which loneliness is commonly found; loneliness among those suffering the loss of a loved one; the loneliness of social isolation; resources available to the lonely; and, finally, a look at issues yet to be dealt with and some suggestions for the management of loneliness. This book is a useful resource for social scientists, clinicians, and individuals who now or in the future may suffer from loneliness.

A source of hope, expert advice, and guidance for people with borderline personality disorder and those who love them Do you experience frightening, often violent mood swings that make you fear for your sanity? Are you often depressed? Do you engage in self-destructive behaviors such as drug or alcohol abuse, anorexia, compulsive eating, self-cutting, and hair pulling? Do you feel empty inside, or as if you don't know who you are? Do you dread being alone and fear abandonment? Do you have trouble finishing projects, keeping a job, or forming lasting relationships? If you or someone you love answered yes to the majority of these questions, there's a good chance that you or that person suffers from borderline personality disorder, a commonly misunderstood and misdiagnosed psychological problem afflicting tens of millions of people. Princess Diana was one of the most well-known BPD sufferers. As a source of hope and practical advice for BPD sufferers and those who love them, this new book by Dr. Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus, bestselling authors of I Hate You, Don't Leave Me, offers proven techniques that help you: * Manage mood swings * Develop lasting relationships * Improve your self-esteem * Keep negative thoughts at bay * Control destructive impulses * Understand your treatment options * Find professional help