Disorders of Affect Regulation : Alexithymia in Medical and Psychiatric Illness

This work provides an entirely new perspective on emotional influences on mental and physical health. The authors present current thinking on the development and regulation of emotions and argue that several common but difficult to treat psychiatric illnesses, including drug addictions, eating disorders, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorders, are a consequence of an individual's inability to regulate distressing emotions through mental processes. They also advance a model in which dysregulated emotions may alter other bodily systems and thereby contribute to the development of physical illnesses and diseases. The book is generously illustrated throughout with clinical vignettes and provides descriptions of innovative therapeutic approaches. This volume will become a valuable and stimulating reference for clinicians and researchers alike.

a Stimulating And Practical Reference Offering New Perspectives On The Role Of Emotions In Mental And Physical Health.

michael J. Schrift

this Book Covers The Clinical Features And Validation Of A Model Of Affect Dysfunction Termed Alexithymia. Written And Edited By A Group Of Clinician Researchers That Did The Empirical Research, It Is A Valuable Contribution To Psychiatry. The Purpose Is To Provide A Reconceptualization Of Certain Medical And Psychiatric Disorders As Disorders Of Affect Regulation. The Book Is Essentially A Platform For This Group To Present Their Perspective On How Emotions Influence Mental And Physical Health. The Intended Audiences Are Researchers And Clinicians Who Have An Interest In Alexithymia. Topics Covered Include Development And Regulation Of Affects, Affect Dysregulation And Alexithymia, Measurement And Validation Of The Alexithymia Construct, Personality And Alexithymia, The Neurobiology Of Emotion, Somatoform Disorders, Anxiety And Depressive Disorders, Substance Use Disorders, Eating Disorders, Alexithymia In Medical Illness, Treatment Considerations, And Future Directions. An Appendix Follows Includes The 12-item Modified Version Of The Beth Israel Hospital Psychosomatic Questionnaire. There Is Also An Up-to-date Reference Section And Useful Index. This Is A Valuable New Book On The Concept Of Alexithymia. The Book Will Be Useful As A Reference For Researchers And Clinicians Interested In Affect.

An entirely new perspective on how emotions influence mental and physical health. The authors present recent thinking about the development and regulation of emotions, and argue that several common but difficult to treat psychiatric illnesses, including drug addictions, eating disorders, panic disorder and post traumatic stress disorders, are a consequence of an inability to regulate distressing emotions through mental processes. The book also advances a model in which dysregulated emotions may alter other bodily systems and thereby contribute to the development of physical illnesses and diseases. Generously illustrated throughout with clinical vignettes and providing descriptions of innovative therapeutic approaches, this book offers a valuable and stimulating reference for clinicians and researchers alike Although affects have long been considered a basic and essential feature of human experience, there has never been any clear agreement on a definition and theory of affects; and only recently have psychologists and psychiatrists shown a serious interest in how affects develop and come to be regulated. In this original work, the authors argue that several difficult to treat psychiatric illnesses, including drug addictions, eating disorders, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorders, are a consequence of an individual's inability to regulate distressing emotions through mental processes.