Removing the Mask of Kindness : Diagnosis and Treatment of the Caretaker Personality Disorder

Character traits may be used as defenses, or, 'coping mechanisms' that may be developed by individuals in an exaggerated fashion in order to conceal psychological conflicts. When these mechanisms break down, previously repressed trauma erupts into consciousness. One such trait is selflessness. Les Barbanell examines the transformation of selflessness into the Caretaker Personality Disorder and how it is not always better to give than receive, that being good can go bad, and that the 'disease to please' can even be fatal. "There are some characteristics, used as defenses or "coping mechanisms," that can be developed by individuals in an exaggerated fashion in order to conceal psychological conflicts. When these mechanisms break down, previously repressed trauma erupts into consciousness. Les Barbanell examines the transformation of the "selflessness" trait into the Caretaker Personality Disorder and shows that it is not always better to give than receive, that being good can go bad, and that the "disease to please" can even be fatal."--Jacket Psychological and emotional survival The benign and pathological use of masks Factors in the choice of protective strategies From identity to catastrophe: when masks fail to protect Diagnosis of the caretaker personality disorder Caretaker personality disorder and other clinical states The psychotherapist with caretaker personality disorder Obstacles toward discarding the false self Treatment and the shift toward self-focus Observing and measuring indications of change This book examines the transformation of selflessness into the Caretaker Personality Syndrome, and how it is not always better to give than receive, that being good can go bad, and that the disease to please can even be fatal