ABSTRACT
The epistemological and doctrinal framework of standard cognitive psychotherapy, already criticized by Guidano and Liotto, has revealed itself to be especially inadequate when dealing with delusions and hallucinations. The work of Perris, on schizophrenia and on the difficult patient, has not only extended the scope of the application of cognitive therapy from emotional disorders and anxiety to psychosis, but has, proposed and implemented an epistemological and clinical revolution in complex, constructivist terms. The renunciation of various behavioural and cognitive techniques has led Guidano to substantially neglect schizophrenia and personality disorders. These constitute an extremely important area of clinical practice because of the level of hardship that such pathologies create for the patient, the family, and the entire social network. The work of Carlo Perris on schizophrenia and, more generally, on the "difficult patient" continued to develop coherently and profitably during the 1990s. This chapter also presents an overview of this book.
