Removing the Mask of Kindness

Diagnosis and Treatment of the Caretaker Personality Disorder

By (author) Les Barbanell

Publication date:

19 October 2006

Length of book:

212 pages

Publisher

Jason Aronson, Inc.

ISBN-13: 9780765704092

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.

Part 1 The Inborn Ability to Protect the Self
Chapter 2 Psychological and Emotional Survival
Chapter 3 The Benign and Pathological Use of Masks
Chapter 4 The Choice of Protective Strategies
Chapter 5 From Identity to Catastrophe: When the Masks Fail to Protect
Part 6 Kindness and Deception
Chapter 7 Diagnosis of the Caretaker Personality Disorder
Chapter 8 CPD and Other Clinical States
Chapter 9 The Psychotherapist with CPD
Part 10 Treatment
Chapter 11 Obstacles Towards Discarding the False Self
Chapter 12 Treatment and the Shift Toward Self-Focus
Chapter 13 Observing and Measuring Indicators of Change

In his strikingly accessible language, Dr. Barbanell uncovers and elegantly elaborates what lies at the base of many individuals' relentless quest to help, to give, to empathize, and to heal. His investigation of the caretaking personality, particularly in light of its historical and traumatic antecedents, substantially deepens our understanding of the dynamics of human accommodation and its intent to preclude rejection and abandonment. Dr. Barbanell creatively explores and describes the developmental implications of the caretaking personality, who, with help, may strive to reach beyond the mandates and strictures of being-for-others and to restore instead a sense of self in relation to others that is centered on a balance of give-and-receive, eventuating in a more authentic connection with others. Especially compelling is Dr. Barbanell's practical elucidation of the vicissitudes of and necessity for our continuing search for human relatedness and authenticity.