Working Effectively with Personality Disorder: Contemporary and Critical Approaches to Clinical and Organizational Practice

The history of ‘personality disorder’ services is problematic to say the least. The very concept is under heavy fire, services are often expensive and ineffective, and many service users report feeling that they have been deceived, stigmatised or excluded. Yet while there are inevitably serious (and often destructive) relational challenges involved in the work, creative networks of learning do exist - professionals who are striving to provide progressive, compassionate services for and with this client group. Working Effectively with ‘Personality Disorder’ shares this knowledge, articulating an alternative way of working that acknowledges the contemporary debate around diagnosis, reveals flawed assumptions underlying current approaches, and argues for services that work more positively, more holistically and with a wider and more socially focused agenda. Contributors include Mary McMurran, David Pilgrim, Nick Benefield, Jina Barrett and Neil Gordon. Read more