Table Of Contentebook
THE GUILFORD PRESS
PERFECTIONISM
PER FEC T IONI S M
A Relational Approach to
Conceptualization, Assessment,
and Treatment
Paul L. Hewitt
Gordon L. Flett
Samuel F. Mikail
The Guilford Press
New York London
Copyright © 2017 The Guilford Press
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The authors have checked with sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to
provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards
of practice that are accepted at the time of publication. However, in view of the
possibility of human error or changes in behavioral, mental health, or medical
sciences, neither the authors, nor the editor and publisher, nor any other party
who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants
that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete,
and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained
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mation contained in this book with other sources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hewitt, Paul L. (Paul Louis), author. | Flett, Gordon L., author. |
Mikail, Samuel F., author.
Title: Perfectionism : a relational approach to conceptualization,
assessment, and treatment / Paul L. Hewitt, Gordon L. Flett, Samuel F.
Mikail.
Description: New York : The Guilford Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016050278 | ISBN 9781462528721 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: | MESH: Compulsive Personality Disorder—diagnosis | Compulsive
Personality Disorder—therapy | Psychotherapy—methods | Interpersonal
Relations
Classification: LCC RC473.P56 | NLM WM 190.5.C5 | DDC 616.85/81—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050278
To my wife, Barbara Calvert, and our children,
Harris, JC, Jack, and Mac. And Henry and Barney, too.
—P. L. H.
To my wife, Kathleen; our daughters, Hayley and Alison;
and, of course, our beloved Toby.
—G. L. F.
To my mother, Samiha Sidrak, who always encouraged
us to do our best and never expected perfection.
This was the means by which she lived her own
personal, professional, and spiritual life.
—S. F. M.
About the Authors
Paul L. Hewitt, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the
University of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian
Psychological Association and of the Association’s Section on Clinical
Psychology. Dr. Hewitt was recently cited as one of the top 10 Canadian
clinical psychology professors for research productivity. He has pub-
lished over 200 research papers, books, and chapters on perfectionism,
psychopathology, and psychotherapy, and has conducted collaborative
work on perfectionism with Gordon L. Flett since 1989. Dr. Hewitt has
a private practice in clinical psychology, consults with numerous orga-
nizations, and is regularly asked to speak at national and international
conferences on perfectionism research and treatment.
Gordon L. Flett, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at
York University in Toronto, Canada, where he holds a Canada Research
Chair in Personality and Health and is Director of the LaMarsh Cen-
tre for Child and Youth Research. Formerly, he was Associate Dean of
Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health. Dr. Flett is a
Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, which has cited him
as one of the top 25 most productive authors in psychology. Best known
for his research on personality and depression, as well as his collabora-
tive work on perfectionism with Paul L. Hewitt since 1989, he has been
the guest editor of several special journal issues on perfectionism.
Samuel F. Mikail, PhD, ABPP, maintains a private clinical psychology
practice in Newmarket, Canada; consults to private insurers on mental
health disability claims; and is an adjunct clinical faculty member at
the University of Waterloo. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychologi-
cal Association and of the Association’s Section on Clinical Psychology.
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About the Authors vii
His clinical writing and research publications have spanned the fields
of mental health, health psychology, rehabilitation, and spirituality. Dr.
Mikail serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychologi-
cal Association, where he is Practice Chair and Chair of Professional
Affairs. He received the award for Excellence in Professional Psychology
Training from the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Pro-
grams and was recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical
Training by the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.
Preface
O
ur purpose in writing this book was not to review the extant
research in the perfectionism literature, but to capture in one place our
thinking, conceptual analyses, and both models and specifics of the
individual and group psychotherapeutic treatment of perfectionism that
we have been developing over the past 30 years. The work emphasizes
several detailed models outlining our understanding of the multidimen-
sional and multilevel nature of perfectionism; the development of per-
fectionism as arising from early childhood relational experiences; the
mechanisms involved in perfectionism’s role as a core vulnerability fac-
tor in many, many forms of dysfunction, distress, and disorders; and,
finally, models explaining our individual and group psychotherapeutic
treatment of perfectionism.
Although this book focuses on perfectionism, if you asked us what
this book is about, we would answer quite simply, “It’s about people.”
It is too easy to think of perfectionism as a personality construct that
exists in and of itself, and to forget that perfectionism exists as a part of
a complex person—usually a person in some kind of psychological pain.
This volume is inspired by the countless people who have approached us
as part of their ongoing search for help with their own perfectionism.
Some of them have been willing to travel hundreds or thousands of miles
because they are desperate for help and have not found local resources
to deal with their perfectionistic behavior. These people usually tell us
that their therapists or counselors did not address the specific issues and
themes related to their perfectionism, or used a treatment approach that
just did not seem very well suited to their daily lives and concerns.
The theme “This book is about people” is reflected in various ways.
Our emphasis on a relational approach reflects our realization that for
the vast majority of perfectionists, being able to help them requires
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