Alexithymia: Advances in Research, Theory, and Clinical Practice

Description

Alexithymia is a personality trait characterised by difficulty identifying and describing subjective emotional feelings, a restricted imagination, and an externally oriented style of thinking. Individuals with high levels of this trait are at risk of developing several common psychiatric disorders. The concept of alexithymia has evolved considerably over the past twenty years, and this important new work responds to the need for a definitive book on the subject. The research, theory and clinical issues surrounding alexithymia are discussed in depth, examining the psychological, biological and social aspects of the construct and their related outcomes. Featuring contributions from researchers and clinicians in the field of emotion processing and regulation, chapters include methods for assessing and reducing alexithymia, and research findings from diverse fields of scientific enquiry including genetics, neuroimaging studies, emotion regulation, attachment and trauma research, and comorbidities with a number of psychiatric and medical disorders.

Olivier Luminet is research director at the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research, Full Professor in the Psychology Department, Universite Catholique de Louvain and the current president of the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences. He has published widely on alexithymia since 1999, including more than forty papers in international journals. R. Michael Bagby is a Full Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Chair of the Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science at the University of Toronto. He recently received an award from the American Psychological Association for lifetime contributions to assessment psychology; he has published widely in the areas of personality, psychopathology and psychological assessment. Graeme Taylor is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has conducted research on the alexithymia construct since 1980 and has published widely in this field.