Neurotic Styles

It is hard to follow at times. However, it helps the reader get the feeling of being a person who has a neurotic style of dealing with the world. The book is not critical but explanatory of the different styles most people have at least to some extent.

I am surprised at the wide range of reviewer reactions the book elicited. I love the book and still refer to it, especially the "hysterical" style (now officially called histrionic personality disorder). Shapiro attempts to capture the characteristic behaviors, perceptions and interpersonal dynamics of each style. He succeeds, and does so without using arcaine terms or invoking abstract, academic theories. Don

I agree with Peter Dunn, M.D., about the importance of this work and its historical place in understanding psychopathology. Please read his excellent review. However, Dr. Shapiro's writing style is an obstacle to understanding during a first reading. He needs a good editor. The book reads as if Dr. Shapiro dictated the text, mulling over what he was trying to say. Thus, it contains many turgid, run-on sentences. I often had to read a sentence again to understand its full meaning. This distracted me from following the overall concepts. The chapter on impulsive styles is especially repetitive. The stylistic difficulties that are distracting on a first reading don't get in the way as much the second time, when one is trying to remember key elements. At this point, Dr. Shapiro's parsing of shades of meaning offers subtle insights. Those insights could have been conveyed the first time by breaking one sentence into two or three, but the book is what it is. I recommend it, if you're willing to do the work. In comparison, I recommend the works of Glen Gabbard, M.D., whose writing is especially lucid.