KEY FEATURES Novel therapeutic strategies and formulations to use when all else is failing Provocative conceptualizations of self, personality and psychopathology A fresh approach to treating personality-related disorders Numerous case illustrations, and excerpts from actual psychotherapy sessions and supervision sessions Straightforward, common sense writing free of jargon and psychobabble CONTENTS: Part I: Cognitive Appraisal Theory What Makes Difficult Clients Difficult. Motivation and Attachment. Basic CAT Concepts: Persontypic Affect, Justifying Cognitions, and Security-seeking Behaviors. Patterns of Personality. The Difficult Client Revisited. Part II: Cognitive Appraisal Therapy The CAT Assessment. Interventions Based on the CAT Model. Affect-based Interventions. Additional Interventions Involving Cognition, Behavior, Adjunctive Medication, and Therapeutic Impasses. The Process of CAT (Case Studies). Part III: Applications of CAT CAT with Personality-disordered Clients. Working with Borderline Personality-disordered Clients. Couple Therapy. CAT Group Therapy. Working with Difficult Parents. References. Author Index. Subject Index.