Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder : Reactions and Role of the Psychiatric Team

People with personality disorders are to be found in all branches of psychiatric services, from the outpatient and community care through to acute inpatient care. Their behaviour is difficult, manipulative, threatening and they are hard to manage in institutional settings. Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder is based on unique research study conducted in the three English high security hospitals - Ashworth, Rampton and Broadmoor. Through in-depth analysis of an extensive questionnaire survey followed by personal interviews, Len Bowers shows how positive or negative attitudes to PD patients arise and are maintained over time, as well as discusses what impact they have upon nurses and the care they provide to patients, and draws some practical conclusions. The difficulties facing staff who care for and treat PD patients are enormous, and constitute a significant personal challenge for the psychiatric professional of any discipline. For the first time this book provides details of the most effective ways of creating a positive context for working with personality disorder and contains a blueprint for training and organisational structures across the professional spectrum.

People with personality disorders are to be found in all branches of psychiatric services, from the outpatient and community care through to acute inpatient care. Their behaviour is difficult, manipulative, threatening and they are hard to manage in institutional settings. Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder is based on unique research study conducted in the three English high security hospitals - Ashworth, Rampton and Broadmoor. Through in-depth analysis of an extensive questionnaire survey followed by personal interviews, Len Bowers shows how positive or negative attitudes to PD patients arise and are maintained over time, as well as discusses what impact they have upon nurses and the care they provide to patients, and draws some practical conclusions.

The difficulties facing staff who care for and treat PD patients are enormous, and constitute a significant personal challenge for the psychiatric professional of any discipline. For the first time this book provides details of the most effective ways of creating a positive context for working with personality disorder and contains a blueprint for training and organisational structures across the professional spectrum.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Patricia E. Murphy, PhD(Rush University Medical Center)
Description:This is a well organized presentation of information collected about attitudes of nurses who work with patients with personality disorders (PD).
Purpose:The population of patients with PD poses a particularly challenging task both in patient care and in self care for the nurses who work with them. No one has systematically collected information from nurses who work on PD units. The author presents such a study.
Audience:The book is likely to appeal to nurses who work primarily with this type of patient. It will also be of interest to general psychiatric nurses and their supervisors.
Features:After a brief description of personality disorders, the author includes nurses' descriptions of the particular difficulties in working with this type of patient. Negative explanations for patients' behaviors along with samples of nurses' negative approaches is followed by a chapter on positive approaches of other nurses who seem able to maintain perspective on working this these people. The material suggests effective ways for supporting and training those who choose to do this demanding work.
Assessment:Although there is a limited audience to whom this book will appeal, it throws out a glimmer of hope and support for nurses working with persons with diagnoses in this difficult area.

People with personality disorders are to be found in all branches of psychiatric services, from the outpatient and community care through to acute inpatient care. Their behaviour is difficult, manipulative, threatening and they are hard to manage in institutional settings. __Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder__ is based on unique research study conducted in the three English high security hospitals - Ashworth, Rampton and Broadmoor. Through in-depth analysis of an extensive questionnaire survey followed by personal interviews, Len Bowers shows how positive or negative attitudes to PD patients arise and are maintained over time, as well as discusses what impact they have upon nurses and the care they provide to patients, and draws some practical conclusions. The difficulties facing staff who care for and treat PD patients are enormous, and constitute a significant personal challenge for the psychiatric professional of any discipline. For the first time this book provides details of the most effective ways of creating a positive context for working with personality disorder and contains a blueprint for training and organisational structures across the professional spectrum. "People with personality disorders are to be found in all branches of psychiatric services, as outpatients, as acute inpatients, and in the community. Their behaviour can be manipulative and threatening and they are hard to manage in institutional settings. Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder is based on a unique research study conducted in the three English High Security Hospitals - Ashworth, Rampton and Broadmoor. Through in-depth analysis of an extensive questionnaire survey followed by personal interviews, Len Bowers shows how positive or negative attitudes to PD patients arise and are maintained over time, discusses what impact these attitudes have upon nurses and the care they provide to patients, and draws some practical conclusions." "The difficulties facing staff who care for and treat PD patients are enormous and constitute a significant personal challenge for the psychiatric professional of any discipline. For the first time this book provides details of the most effective ways of creating a positive context for working with Personality Disorder and offers a blueprint for training and organizational structures across the professional spectrum."--Jacket