Interpersonal Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders

Since graduate school, this book has been a mainstay of my practice. I give it as a gift often, to clinicians of all stages of development. The Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) technology contained herein makes order out of the seemingly arbitrary diagnostic categories of the DSM-IV. The interpersonal framework is capable of capturing nuance and complexity and provides amazing predictive power in anticipating what otherwise might seem totally irrational behavior. L.S. Benjamin is a true genius of the healing arts. Her breadth and depth are amazing. This material takes some investment to master, but it will be richly rewarded.

benjamin is a wonderful theoretician, therapist, writer, and lecturer--a true asset to the field. here, she tackles personality disorders with skill and confidence. these methods work! particularly helpful to me were the strategies for handling the intensity of patients with borderline personality disorder. she takes the notion of emotional containment to a whole new level and provides practical, patient-honoring, and self-respecting ways of conveying empathic boundaries. a very matter-of-fact approach that manages intensity in a compassionate yet firm way. one of the best books--if not THE best book--available for treating personality disorders.

Benjamin is a rare clinician: one equally as comfortable in the researcher's as well as psychotherapist's chair. Put bluntly, her book is a tour de force. Regardless of theoretical orientation, psychotherapists will better understand the necessary relationship elements that provide healing for persons who fit Axis II pigeonholes. While initially difficult to grasp, SASB is unbelievably practical, and provides guidance in those moments of clinical despair (that both patient and therapist can experience). Particularly useful, in my view, is her discussion of both the origin of one's introject (self-system) and the wishes/fears people with different Axis II disorders bring to the interpersonal table. In my experience, patients find her model a structure of sanity, amidst a culture of faith healers, repressed memory practitioners, and tarot card readers. Rating: "A PERFECT 10."