Alexithymia: Advances in Research, Theory, and Clinical Practice

by Olivier Luminet (Editor), R. Michael Bagby (Editor), Graeme J. Taylor (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108265980
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/27/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Olivier Luminet is research director at the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research, Full Professor in the Psychology Department, Université 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.

Table of Contents

List of contributors; Foreword; Preface Mark A. Lumley; Acknowledgements; Part I. History, Assessment, and Cultural Shaping of Alexithymia: 1. History of alexithymia: the contributions of psychoanalysis Graeme J. Taylor; 2. Assessment of the alexithymia construct Angela Sekely, R. Michael Bagby and Piero Porcelli; 3. The cultural shaping of alexithymia Andrew Ryder, Momoka Sunohara, Jessica Dere and Yulia E. Chentsova-Dutton; Part II. Emotion and Cognitive Processing: 4. Emotion knowledge and emotion regulation in alexithymia Olivier Luminet and Giorgia Zamariola; 5. Memory and executive functions in alexithymia Nicolas Vermeulen, Irena Domachowska and Kristy A. Nielson; 6. Language processing in alexithymia Carlotta Welding and Dalya Samur; Part III. Clinical Issues and Somatic and Psychiatric Pathology: 7. Alexithymia and physical illness Piero Porcelli and Graeme J. Taylor; 8. Attachment, trauma, and alexithymia Adriano Schimmenti and Vincenzo Caretti; 9. Relations between alexithymia and depressive and anxiety disorders and personality Kirsi Honkalampi, Domenico De Berardis, Federica Vellante and Heimo Viinamäki; 10. Alexithymia and maladaptive regulatory behaviors in substance use disorders and eating disorders Kristen P. Morie and Nathan Ridout; 11. Social and interpersonal implications of alexithymia Delphine Grynberg, Sylvie Berthoz and Geoffrey Bird; 12. Therapeutic issues John S. Ogrodniczuk, David Kealy, George A. Hadjipavlou and Kristjana Cameron; Part IV. Biological Considerations: 13. Neuroimaging studies of alexithymia Katharina S. Goerlich and André Aleman; 14. Electrophysiology of alexithymia Katharina S. Goerlich; 15. Genetic factors and endocrine and immune system functioning associated with alexithymia Michiko Kano, Hans Jörgen Grabe and Jan Terock; 16. Processing emotions in alexithymia: a systematic review of physiological markers Georgia Panayiotou, Maria Panteli and Elke Vlemincx; 17. Alexithymia and body awareness Olga Pollatos and Beate M. Herbert; 18. Conclusions and future directions Graeme J. Taylor, R. Michael Bagby and Olivier Luminet; Index.