Title: Misdiagnosing Personality Disorders as Anxiety Disorders (Notes to the Therapist)

Abstract:

The obesity epidemic has been a crucial health concern over the past few decades. Multiple contributing factors have been identified at various levels: genetic, biological, environmental, social, economic etc. In many ways obesity presents some similarities with substance dependence and abuse. The term “co-dependency” originates from the realm of addiction. Co-dependency mechanisms can also appear between parents and children and enable obesity.

Biography:

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited" and other books about personality disorders. His work is cited in hundreds of books and dozens of academic papers. He is Visiting Professor of Psychology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia and Professor of Finance and Psychology in CIAPS (Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies). He spent the past 6 years developing a treatment modality for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Over the years, with volunteers, it was found to be effective with clients suffering from a major depressive episode as well.