Akhtar is well known in psychoanalytic and psychiatric circles for his numerous contributions to the literature, particularly in the area of personality disorders and their development and treatment. He is currently Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a faculty member of the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute.

In the present work, he undertakes an ambitious, if not impossible, task. In his own words, “In this book I have attempted to present a comprehensive view of the pathology, phenomenology, evaluation, and treatment of severe personality disorders. I have tried to synthesize