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354 Pages·2017·12.376 MB·English
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ebook THE GUILFORD PRESS PERFECTIONISM PER FEC T IONI S M A Relational Approach to Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment Paul L. Hewitt Gordon L. Flett Samuel F. Mikail The Guilford Press New York London Copyright © 2017 The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc. 370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001 www.guilford.com All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The authors have checked with sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards of practice that are accepted at the time of publication. However, in view of the possibility of human error or changes in behavioral, mental health, or medical sciences, neither the authors, nor the editor and publisher, nor any other party who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information. Readers are encouraged to confirm the infor- mation contained in this book with other sources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hewitt, Paul L. (Paul Louis), author. | Flett, Gordon L., author. | Mikail, Samuel F., author. Title: Perfectionism : a relational approach to conceptualization, assessment, and treatment / Paul L. Hewitt, Gordon L. Flett, Samuel F. Mikail. Description: New York : The Guilford Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016050278 | ISBN 9781462528721 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: | MESH: Compulsive Personality Disorder—diagnosis | Compulsive Personality Disorder—therapy | Psychotherapy—methods | Interpersonal Relations Classification: LCC RC473.P56 | NLM WM 190.5.C5 | DDC 616.85/81—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050278 To my wife, Barbara Calvert, and our children, Harris, JC, Jack, and Mac. And Henry and Barney, too. —P. L. H. To my wife, Kathleen; our daughters, Hayley and Alison; and, of course, our beloved Toby. —G. L. F. To my mother, Samiha Sidrak, who always encouraged us to do our best and never expected perfection. This was the means by which she lived her own personal, professional, and spiritual life. —S. F. M. About the Authors Paul L. Hewitt, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and of the Association’s Section on Clinical Psychology. Dr. Hewitt was recently cited as one of the top 10 Canadian clinical psychology professors for research productivity. He has pub- lished over 200 research papers, books, and chapters on perfectionism, psychopathology, and psychotherapy, and has conducted collaborative work on perfectionism with Gordon L. Flett since 1989. Dr. Hewitt has a private practice in clinical psychology, consults with numerous orga- nizations, and is regularly asked to speak at national and international conferences on perfectionism research and treatment. Gordon L. Flett, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he holds a Canada Research Chair in Personality and Health and is Director of the LaMarsh Cen- tre for Child and Youth Research. Formerly, he was Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health. Dr. Flett is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, which has cited him as one of the top 25 most productive authors in psychology. Best known for his research on personality and depression, as well as his collabora- tive work on perfectionism with Paul L. Hewitt since 1989, he has been the guest editor of several special journal issues on perfectionism. Samuel F. Mikail, PhD, ABPP, maintains a private clinical psychology practice in Newmarket, Canada; consults to private insurers on mental health disability claims; and is an adjunct clinical faculty member at the University of Waterloo. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychologi- cal Association and of the Association’s Section on Clinical Psychology. vi About the Authors vii His clinical writing and research publications have spanned the fields of mental health, health psychology, rehabilitation, and spirituality. Dr. Mikail serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychologi- cal Association, where he is Practice Chair and Chair of Professional Affairs. He received the award for Excellence in Professional Psychology Training from the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Pro- grams and was recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Training by the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. Preface O ur purpose in writing this book was not to review the extant research in the perfectionism literature, but to capture in one place our thinking, conceptual analyses, and both models and specifics of the individual and group psychotherapeutic treatment of perfectionism that we have been developing over the past 30 years. The work emphasizes several detailed models outlining our understanding of the multidimen- sional and multilevel nature of perfectionism; the development of per- fectionism as arising from early childhood relational experiences; the mechanisms involved in perfectionism’s role as a core vulnerability fac- tor in many, many forms of dysfunction, distress, and disorders; and, finally, models explaining our individual and group psychotherapeutic treatment of perfectionism. Although this book focuses on perfectionism, if you asked us what this book is about, we would answer quite simply, “It’s about people.” It is too easy to think of perfectionism as a personality construct that exists in and of itself, and to forget that perfectionism exists as a part of a complex person—usually a person in some kind of psychological pain. This volume is inspired by the countless people who have approached us as part of their ongoing search for help with their own perfectionism. Some of them have been willing to travel hundreds or thousands of miles because they are desperate for help and have not found local resources to deal with their perfectionistic behavior. These people usually tell us that their therapists or counselors did not address the specific issues and themes related to their perfectionism, or used a treatment approach that just did not seem very well suited to their daily lives and concerns. The theme “This book is about people” is reflected in various ways. Our emphasis on a relational approach reflects our realization that for the vast majority of perfectionists, being able to help them requires viii

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