COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE-PROBLEM PATIENTS - APPLICATION TO PERSONALITY-DISORDERS

Conceptual and clinical problems arise in the treatment of patients wi th personality disorders, including three clinical problems: establish ing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with these patients is often difficult, empirically-validated treatments for personality diso rders are generally not available, and personality-disordered patients typically have multiple presenting problems. We describe a case formu lation model for conceptualizing and treating multiple-problem patient s, and outline how it addresses these difficulties arising in the trea tment of patients with personality disorders.