There are four general approaches to treatment for the symptomatic child. In individual child psychotherapy, the child is seen alone and play therapy is often utilized to help the child become aware of his feelings and express them more appropriately. In conjoint parent-child psychotherapy and counseling, the child is seen together with one…

Presents a five-level taxonomy classifying counseling problems in hierarchical order. Each level is composed of inappropriate behaviors, cognitions, or expectations. Discusses interrelated characteristics which decrease from the highest to the lowest level. Gives an example of the use of the taxonomy. (Author/RC)

Notes that more students with severe personality disorders are presenting for psychological services at university counseling centers. Considers ethical dilemmas posed by these students. Sees clinical decisions about appropriate treatment modalities, philosophical decisions about agency mission, and available resources to carry out defined…

Discusses problems and methodology of diagnosis and counseling of college students with borderline personality disorder. Recommends that providing these students with structure through consistent limit setting can produce positive changes in their behavior. (Author/ABL)

The person with a borderline personality is considered to be neither neurotic nor psychotic, but to exist somewhere in between these two diagnostic categories. Psychoanalytic theorists who have researched the phenomenon of the borderline personality have shifted their emphasis away from Freud's instinct psychology and toward an ego psychology…

Provides counselors with an overview of narcissism and its treatment. In the first section, dysfunctional narcissism is described, drawing on the diagnostic indicators presented in the DSM-III and the contemporary object relations theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kerberg. The second section focuses on counseling narcissistic clients. (Author/JAC)

This report begins by providing two case examples of closed head injuries in families. Closed head injuries or traumatic brain injuries are briefly defined and it is noted that brain injury can cause socialization problems, personality changes, and confusion. It is suggested that families that have an individual member with a closed head injury…

Reviews studies of impact of comorbidity of personality disorders and depression on response to various forms of treatment. Notes that findings support belief that personality disorders are associated with poorer response to treatment for depression. Also notes that limited data available suggest that depression may be positive prognostic…

Summary article blends commentaries from the six previous articles in this special journal section on comorbidity. Includes a discussion of various definitions of comorbidity, the merits and demerits of a hierarchical diagnostic system, and consideration of the extent, patterning, and nature of comorbidity. Directive comments with reference to…

Science Monographs, published by the National Institute of Mental Health, are book-length, integrative state-of-the-art reviews, critical evaluations of findings, or program assessments of current research on topics related to the NIMH mandate. This set of articles concentrate on mental illness in the family. "Depression and Low-Income,…

Presents a literature review on the day treatment of borderline patients and discusses the diagnosis and dynamics of borderline adolescents. Describes methods used in a day hospital program whose goal was to potentiate a successful start of a longer-term psychotherapeutic process that would continue after discharge. Difficulties in prognosis and…

Presents two case examples illustrating nature and etiology of multiple personality disorder in two clients and describing their entry into counseling and progress through treatment. Compares and contrasts cases in areas of diagnosis, symptoms, history, and treatment. Suggests that mental health counselors combine firmness with flexibility in…

Attempts to define interrelationship of personality disorders. Discusses relationships between and among three major groupings of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Suggests that passive aggressive, avoidant, and borderline personality disorders serve as bridges between these groupings. Discusses placement within groupings with…

Briefly describes Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and explains Relationship Enhancement (RE) marital and family therapy. Provides rationale for understanding BPD as manifestation of lack of differentiation in intimate relationships, followed by explanation of how RE fosters differentiation between partners. Includes case study. (Author/NB)

Discusses the borderline adolescent in terms of diagnostic perspectives, characteristic features based on disturbed object relations, and treatment. Based on clinical observations, the diagnosis of borderline personality is considered to be compatible with a schizophrenic disorder. Day-treatment and individual therapy are considered from a…