ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an introduction and overview to diagnosis and treatment of the personality disorders. It begins with a description of changes in DSM-5, emphasizing those involving the personality disorders, particularly the Alternative DSM-5 Model of Personality Disorders and the Levels of Personality Functioning Scale. The book focuses on Description that provides an extensive discussion of the particular personality disorder in biopsychosocial terms. It also contains five different case conceptualizations of the disorder. The five dominant clinical formulations are psychodynamic, the biosocial represented largely by Millon. The book focuses on Assessment that describes typical interview behavior manifested by the personality-disordered patient and the ease or difficulty of establishing rapport. It previews a number of cutting-edge developments involving conceptualization, assessment and diagnosis, and treatment of the DSM-5 personality disorders. It explains Treatment of the disorder. They are the psychodynamic, the cognitive-behavioral, and the interpersonal approaches.
