ABSTRACT
In this book it is argued that disorders of metacognition, i.e. dif®culties re¯ecting upon one's own and others' mental states, have an important role in severe pathologies such as personality disorders (PD), schizophrenia or post-traumatic disorders. These patients have dif®culties thinking about their own thoughts, perceiving their emotions, comprehending others' intentions and effectively regulating their own mental processes. Such dif®- culties appear in different forms in different patients. In some of them certain aspects of metacognition can be impaired, but not others, or the dysfunctions can manifest themselves with various degrees of pervasiveness.
