Abnormalities of Personality: Within and Beyond the Realm of Treatment

Besides the few pen marks, the book arrived ahead of time. I would recommend this seller, based on this purchase.

I am still sad that I finished this book and I miss it when I am stumbling through other books written by people who clearly just do not have the clarity of mind and the gift of expression that Michael Stone does. The book is a fair, reasoned, elaborately thought out and articulated treatment of a subject that most people in mental health fail to understand, and fail to realize the scope and impact of. In this day of name therapies (CBT, CBASP, DBT, ACT) Michael Stone cuts through the nonsense and delivers a balanced, empirically grounded, scientifically valid and deeply understood descrpition of personality disorders, personality traits and their impact on treatment, without faddishness or resorting to un-rigorous evangelism. It would be a great read for anyone in the mental health treatment field, for it has an appreciation for something that the mental health field is sorely lacking in these days of cookbook therapies and "therapists" with less and less training; accurate diagnosis and nuanced approach.

It is rare to find a scholarly textbook which contrasts orthodox points of view with heterodoxy. Stone seeks to debunk myths regarding the etiology of disorders and the omnipotence of treatment modalities. He also, mercifully, refocuses on the patient (client), his personality, and his presenting traits - rather than on the nebulous and abstract construct of "personality disorder". Though somewhat outdated clinically - it relies on the DSM-III-R published in 1987 - it is still a refreshing new look at the topic, a decade after its publication. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

I'm writing this review because the only other customer review gave it a one star rating. Clearly, the book did not meet that reviewer's needs.I do, however, want to alert graduate students and teachers and mental health professionals to Stone's book. Published in 1993, it is now far too old to be a primary text on personality disorders. And the fact that it uses DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria makes it even less palatable to students. But I thought that the book was superb when it was published, and I still recommend it to graduate students in clinical psychology for its discussion of psychopathy and of personality traits that are difficult to treat. Graduate students in clinical psychology should first learn about Robert Hare's work on psychopathy, but Stone's book is a great resource.