ABSTRACT
Similar to the author’s treatment of Reich’s character types, she describes Masterson’s Disorders of the Self (DOS) in detail. Case examples are included as well as treatment indications in a way that the newly minted therapist can absorb and the professional can apply. The author discusses how, through this lens of early developmental ruptures paired with presenting problems, critical information is revealed through appropriate questioning and an accurate character diagnosis is arrived at efficiently. Correct treatment depends on correct diagnosis. Descriptions of DOS personality disorders are delineated: narcissist, devaluing narcissist, closet narcissist, borderline and schizoid types, and the early phase schizophrenic. Treatment strategies are discussed emphasizing the importance of how the therapist listens during the initial interview and the history-taking phase. Can the therapist differentiate the DOS personality disorder from the neurotic? The author asks the reader to notice certain traits and teaches a way of listening and taking in the patient through specific descriptors. She also emphasizes that therapy is not orderly work, as its magic is in the mystery. There are always surprises.
