Extreme Intelligence

Dr Sonja Falck is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of East London, UK. She is also a UKCP and BACP accredited psychotherapist and supervisor. She consults in person and online internationally, specialising in high-ability adults’ relationship issues. She has presented at SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted), USA, and the British branch of the international high IQ society Mensa, UK.

"This engaging book is spot on. I am most impressed. The research Dr. Falck has done, in the literature and her own research, is phenomenal. She gives many telling examples, and illustrates her points most convincingly. It has given me sheer joy to read this and witness this particular cheetah running free. It will be ages before this book ceases to surpass all others in this important field: it deserves to do extremely well."- Patrick Casement, British Psychoanalytical Society, UK. "Dr. Falck’s book is of singular importance for adults with exceptional intelligence and clinicians who work with them therapeutically. She places her data, observations, suggestions and conclusions in the context of an extensive literature review, making her book comprehensive and up to date. It is an authentic, stimulating, and impressive resource that contributes a deeper understanding of the interpersonal psychology of exceptionally intelligent individuals. Her research interviews with very high-IQ adults should in themselves help similar others ‘normalize’ the social dynamics they experience that unfortunately can so often be confusing and disappointing or worse. This book should inspire further pursuit of more adaptive solutions and help reverse the trend of denying, disavowing, or deconstructing the remarkable asset that extreme intelligence can be. This is a compellingly-written work that makes a major contribution to this field." – Dr. Jerald Grobman, Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, USA.

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgementsExtended Table of ContentsPreface: Mother says noIntroduction: How do we think and speak about extreme intelligence?Part I: DevelopmentChapter 1 – Measures and Methods: The identifying and quantifying of intelligenceChapter 2 – The Roots of Difference: How is it that some people stand out so much from others?Chapter 3 – Core Biopsychosocial Issues: Needing to be noticed, dreading rejectionPart II: PredicamentsChapter 4 – Recognition and Reactions: What happens when someone stands out so much?Chapter 5 – Naïve Child, Arrogant Emperor: Are the intellectually adept, socially inept?Chapter 6 – Madness, Misunderstanding, and Misdiagnosis: Is extreme intelligence a benefit or a liability?Part III: ImplicationsChapter 7 – Entrapment: The unintentional perpetuation of interpersonal troubleChapter 8 – Hiding Self, Reaching Out: The ‘High-IQ Relational Styles’ frameworkChapter 9 – Helping High Ability Thrive: Channelling abilities whilst managing threatConclusion: Implications for the world around us of how we relate to extreme intelligenceAppendix: Explaining the research process that underpins the bookIndex