This, one of my favorite books, was Reviewed in 2004 June CHOICE , which is one of the largest review journals for college and public libraries. It have taken some flack on this book, mainly due to my emphasis on the off-putting nature of some avoidants’ behaviors. But I stick to my guns. The truth hurts, but ultimately it can help more than it wounds. I wouldn’t be the first doctor to have to accept that cure starts with inflicting a degree of pain. Besides, I have been the target of many avoidants sudden turning on and dropping me in a cloud of unwarranted anger. It hurts. From CHOICE: Distancing: avoidant personality disorder. Rev. and expanded. Praeger, 2003. Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD), a common but little-studied psychological disorder, manifests itself in various ways. Individuals afflicted with AvPD experience acute anxiety when thinking about or experiencing social encounters with intimates, family, acquaintances, and even strangers. Besides feeling anxious and troubled by social contact (or the lack thereof), "avoidants" usually inflict psychological pain on those closest to them; spouses, lovers, even therapists, are not immune. A concomitant difficulty is that most people with AvPD are unaware that they distance themselves from others and create emotional upheaval. Kantor—a psychiatrist in private practice and the author of books dealing with homophobia and passive aggression--illustrates various forms of AvPD, filling the book with intriguing and often unsettling stories and case studies. Some cases are truly shocking, as when relationships suddenly "end" for no apparent reason and partners (victims) of distancing are left, poignantly wondering about a relationship's dissolution. This 20-chapter book is divided into two parts, one covering description and the other therapy. Kantor reviews various therapeutic avoidance-reduction strategies. Summing Up: Recommended. Most useful to practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists, and general readers interested in this relatively neglected personality disorder. -- D. S. Dunn, Moravian College DISTANCING: DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF THE PERSONALITY DISORDERS Buy Book from Amazon.com