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Contemporary Interpersonal Theory and Research: Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychotherapy |
| Donald J. Kiesler |
| Pioneered by Harry Stack Sullivan in the 1940s, interpersonal therapy has, over the past half century, firmly established itself as one of the four main psychotherapeutic families. Now, from one of the brightest lights currently working in the field, comes the comprehensive guide to contemporary interpersonal research, theory, and practice. Providing a valuable resource for students as well as mental health professionals, Donald J. Kiesler offers both an exhaustive, up-to-the-minute survey of current methods and principles, and a systematic, empirically based approach to interpersonal psychotherapy. In the first part of the book, the focus is on general principles of personality and maladjustment as viewed from the interpersonal perspective. Dr. Kiesler introduces the interpersonal circle—one of the central conceptual underpinnings of interpersonal theory and practice. He then explores the importance of the interpersonal circle in both research and clinical applications, including its roles in the assessment of maladaptive behavior, the conceptualization and diagnosis of DSMTM mental disorders, the analysis of the therapeutic relationship, and the shaping of subsequent interpersonal interventions. Dr. Kiesler also describes the various interpersonal cognitive components and delineates interpersonal principles of complementarity. And he provides circumplex inventories, indispensable tools of the trade used in interpersonal diagnosis, treatment and supervision planning, and evaluation processes.
Part 2 is devoted to clinical considerations. Dr. Kiesler provides practical guidelines on interpersonal assessment, diagnosis, therapy, and supervision for a wide range of DSM disorders. He highlights principles of therapeutic metacommunication and interpersonal impact disclosure as they apply to both psychotherapy and supervision. And most importantly, he develops the crucial concept of the maladaptive transaction cycle, explaining how it serves as an overarching principle in differential intervention for patients with specific DSM disorders. | | |
