This book introduces the reader to a clear and consistent method for in-depth exploration of subjective psychopathological experiences with the aim of helping to restore the ability within psychiatry and clinical psychology to draw qualitative distinctions between mental symptoms that are only apparently similar, thereby promoting a more precise characterization of experiential phenotypes. A wide range of mental disorders are considered in the book, each portrayed by a distinguished clinician. Each chapter begins with the description of a paradigmatic case study in order to introduce the reader directly to the patient’s lived world. The first-person perspective of the patient is the principal focus of attention. The essential, defining features of each psychopathological phenomenon and the meaning that the patient attaches to it are carefully analyzed in order to “make sense” of the patient’s apparently nonsensical experiences. In the second part of each chapter, the case study is discussed within the context of relevant literature and a detailed picture of the state of the art concerning the psychopathological understanding of the phenomenon at issue is provided. An Experiential Approach to Psychopathology, and the method it proposes, may be considered the result of convergence of classic phenomenological psychopathological concepts and updated clinical insights into patients’ lived experiences. It endorses three key principles: subjective phenomena are the quintessential feature of mental disorders; their qualitative study is mandatory; phenomenology has developed a rigorous method to grasp “what it is like” to be a person experiencing psychopathological phenomena. While the book is highly relevant for expert clinical phenomenologists, it is written in a way that will be readily understandable for trainees and young clinicians.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a unique empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness processes, and commitment and behaviour change processes to produce psychological flexibility. Steven C. Hayes, who helped develop ACT, and co-author Jason Lillis provide an overview of ACT's main influences and its basic principles In this succinct and understandable survey, the authors show how ACT illuminates the ways that language encourages unhelpful skirmishing in clients' psychic lives, and how to use ACT to help clients accept private experiences, become more mindful of thoughts, develop greater clarity about personal values, and commit to needed behaviour change. The latest edition in the Theories of Psychotherapy Series. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy examines the therapy's history and process, evaluates the therapy's evidence base and effectiveness, and suggests future directions in the therapy's development..

Integrating the work of leading therapists, the book covers both conceptual foundations and current treatment applications. The volume delineates a variety of experiential methods, and describes newly developed models of experiential diagnosis and case formulation.

In this book, Epstein presents a new theory of personality, referred to as cognitive-experiential theory (CET), that is integrative of all other major personality theories.

Praise for Twenty-First Century Psychotherapies "Jay Lebow has done a masterful job in presenting a lucid overview of the leading theories of psychotherapy, strategies of change, and intervention techniques at the forefront of the field. This outstanding volume is a must-read for seasoned clinicians and trainees alike." —Froma Walsh, Mose & Sylvia Firestone Professor in the School of Social Service Administration, Professor of Psychiatry in the Pritzker School of Medicine, and Codirector of Center for Family Health, The University of Chicago "This book provides a well-written, up-to-date survey of the theories and practices of psychotherapy that have stood the test of time and seem to be here to stay. A great strength is the chapter authors' inclusion of the evidence for each approach, since Evidence-Based Practice truly is a hallmark of the twenty-first century. This outstanding resource will enable readers to both understand and implement therapy." —Ronald F. Levant, EdD, ABPP, Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Akron, and 2005 President, American Psychological Association "Twenty-First Century Psychotherapies offers a remarkably comprehensive, up-to-date, and scholarly examination of the dominant approaches to therapy. Written by leading and articulate experts in each intervention model, this book draws together the most forward-thinking perspectives in individual, group, and couples/family therapy. This will be a treasured reference to novice and experienced clinicians alike, and I expect it to be a much-consulted companion to professionals for many years to come." —Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Chief Psychologist, Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System Twenty-First Century Psychotherapies provides thorough coverage of the methods of psychotherapy now held in the highest regard, both for the quality of the research evidence behind them and for their effectiveness with a variety of treatment populations and treatment settings.

This voluminous book of 47 chapters offers a good cross section of what is burgeoing in the field of client-centered and experiential psychotherapy on the threshold of the nineties. it does not represent a single vision but gives the floor to the various suborientations: classics Rogerians; client-centered therapists who favor some form of integration or even eclecticism; experiential psychotherapists for whom Gendlin's focusing approach is a precious way of working; client-centered therapists who look at the therapy process in terms of information-processing; existentially oriented therapists... Remarkable is that - for the first time in the history of client-centered/experiential psychotherapy - the European voice rings through forcefully: more than half of the contributions were written by authors from Western Europe.Several chapters contain reflections on the evolution--past, present, and future--of client-centered/experiential psychotherapy. The intensive research into the process, which had a central place in the initial phase of client-centered therapy, is given here ample attention, with several creative studies and proposals for renewal. In numerous contributions efforts are made to build and further develop a theroy of psychopathology, the client's process, the basic attitudes and task-oriented interventions of the therapist. The chapters dealing with clinical practice typically aim at the description of therapy with specific client populations and paricularly severely disturbed clients. And finally a few fields are introduced which are new or barely explored within the client-centered/experiential approach: working with dreams, health psychology, couple and family therapy.

Drawing from a wide array of disciplinary perspectives and geographical contexts, this volume offers new insights for critically engaging with the problem of vulnerability. The essays here contained take the move from the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to explore the inherent vulnerability of individuals, but also of social, economic and political systems, and probe the descriptive and prescriptive import of the concept.Each chapter provides a self-contained perspective on vulnerability, as well as a specific methodological framework for questioning its meaning. Taken together, the chapters combine into a multi-disciplinary toolkit for approaching the various forms and structures of vulnerability, with a special attention to the intersectional factors shaping the individual experience of it: from gender to age, from disability to mental illness, from hospitalisation to incarceration. The book explores the theoretical richness and complexity of the concept and proposes new analytical approaches to it, before illustrating its multifariousness through empirically grounded case studies. The closing section engages with “the future of vulnerability”, as a hermeneutic, epistemological, and critical-normative perspective to be deployed beyond the domain of global crises and emergencies.The volume is primarily intended as a reference for scholars in the human, social and health sciences. The accessible structure and plain language of the chapters make it also a valuable didactic resource for graduate courses in philosophy, the social sciences and public health.