Book Review
Personality Disorders 
Major Theories of Personality Disorder Mark E Lenzenweger, John E Clarkin, editors. New York (NY): Guilford Press; 2005. 464 p. US$50.00.
Reviewer
rating*: Good
Review by: Herta A Guttman, MD
Montreal, Quebec
This is a comprehensive reference book that tells you everything you want to know about the current study of personality disorders. In an introductory chapter, the editors review the major areas of controversy and indicate that the 7 succeeding chapters, each authored by an expert, will address these issues from the standpoint of a given theory. This includes the historical foundation of each theory, the developmental and etiologic evidence for each theory, the taxonomy of personality disorders according to the theory, and whether the theory successfully articulates what is known about the psychological, biological, and behavioural aspects of personality disorders. Personality disorders are then considered according to cognitive theory, psychoanalytic theory, interpersonal theory, an attachment model, integrative interpersonal theory, personology, and a neurobehavioral dimensional model.
Although the introduction indicates that the therapeutic techniques and strategies derived from each theoretical perspective will be described, this is not always the case. Most of the authors are academic psychologists who seem to be more interested in theory than in practice. Theory is exhaustively presented, often with needless repetition and sometimes with irrelevant case histories.
Regrettably, the editors did not begin by presenting in detail the more important ideas in papers that are at the cutting edge of the debate to which many of the authors repeatedly refer, for example, the 5-factor theory espoused by Costa and Widiger and supported by Livesley. One of this volume’s strengths, however, is that each chapter has a generous bibliography. Interested readers should not have any difficulty finding key references.
Unfortunately, and surprisingly, the book has been poorly copy edited. The book is highly repetitious and many words are actually missing from the text. With more rigorous editing, it could have been much shorter, more succinct, and more easily read.
I recommend this volume as a reference for students or for practising psychotherapists who require or request an in-depth exploration of a particular theory of personality disorders. I do not recommend reading it in its entirety.
*Reviewer
Rating Scale/ Échelle d’évaluation du réviseur
Excellent / Excellent
Very Good / Très bon
Good / Bon
Fair / Passable
Not recommended / Pas recommandé
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