Dimensions, Landscapes, and Clinical Aspects of Personality

Michela Gecele, M.D., is a psychiatrist and Gestalt psychotherapist. She formerly coordinated, in Turin, a psychological and psychiatric service for immigrants. She is an international trainer and supervisor, co-director of the International Institute of Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology (IPSIG) and of the Turin School of Psychopathology, and co-founder of the International Study Group on Emergent Self and Field Theory (IG-FEST).Gianni Francesetti, M.D., is a psychiatrist, Gestalt psychotherapist, and adjunct professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Turin (Italy). He is an international trainer and supervisor, co-director of the International Institute of Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology (IPSIG) and of the Turin School of Psychopathology, and co-founder of the International Study Group on Emergent Self and Field Theory (IG-FEST).

"This book doesn’t just deserve to be in the libraries of every psychotherapist, especially Gestalt therapists; it should be the study book and “bedside” reference for anyone who wants to improve their clinical practice.With two clearly differentiated parts, the first, with the collaboration of several authors, provides the ground on which to understand and assimilate the second, more practical part in which Gestalt therapists Michela Gecele and Gianni Francesetti describe how to think and intervene in the psychotherapeutic process taking into account not only our basic field-based theory but also the personality disorders that affect Western society today. Practical examples help to better understand their proposals."Carmen Vázquez Bandin, clinical psychologist and Gestalt therapist."This book impressively demonstrates how diagnosis in psychotherapy can align with the Greek origin of the word—knowing thoroughly. However, it does so without objectifying or dehumanizing clients, adopting a radically different perspective that regards both clients and therapists as parts of the situation they cocreate together. In this way, they can rigorously get to know each other—as well as the field conditions that shape who they become. Thus, exhaustive knowing and respect for the clients’ dignity can go hand in hand."Frank-M. Staemmler, Ph.D., psychologist and Gestalt therapist.

• Introduction Part 1 1. Being and Becoming: Imitating, Classifying, Naming 2. Personality Disorders: History and Problems of a Diagnosis 3. State of the Art and New Horizons in Personality Trait Research 4. Personality Disorders and Neurodiversity 5. Witches and Personality Disorders 6. The Personality of the Situation: Personality as a Function of Self in Gestalt Therapy Part 2 7. The Borderline Dimension 8. The Hysterical Dimension 9. The Narcissistic Dimension 10. The Schizoid Dimension 11. The Obsessive-Compulsive Dimension 12. The Psychopathic Dimension Part 3 Conclusion: What to Keep in Mind in Therapy: Cross-Cutting Elements of the Different Personality Dimensions