“This is a timely and much needed book. The author presents a systematic approach for understanding and treating personality disorders utilizing short-term dynamic psychotherapy. Clinical examples abound and technical strategies are clearly articulated. This book will be useful for every clinician, teacher, and student of brief dynamic psychotherapy.”

—Arnold Winston, MD, Chairman Dept. of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Medical Center; Professor and Vice Chairman, Albert Einstein College of Medicine


“Richly grounded in clinical research and up-to-date in theory, this book offers unique blueprints for the complex clinical challenges presented by personality disordered patients. The book is richly studded with clinical wisdom, which will empower the reader to resolve therapeutic roadblocks. Dr. Magnavita's work provides solid, science-based foundations for therapeutic ambition, and hope to a field in desperate need of such a breakthrough.”

—Manuel Trujillo, M.D., New York University Medical


Center and Bellevue Hospital Center “Although intended as a brief treatment manual for the personality disorders, Magnavita's text is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful books available on psychotherapy for these difficult to treat disorders. This highly readable book provides a systematic model with associated techniques to deal with each of the major clusters of Axis II in the DSM-IV. It is a volume that is both theoretically coherent and eminently usable by clinicians of all persuasions. Guided by a deep appreciation of the psychodynamics that undergird personality pathology, Dr. Magnavita has written an incisive and engaging synthesis of what should be known to treat these patients effectively.”

—Theodore Millon, Ph.D., DSc., Dean and Scientific Director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology.