When Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism » (REV)

Martin M. Antony, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto, ON, Canada. He is also director of research at the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and president-elect of the Canadian Psychological Association. He has published twenty-five books and more than one hundred scientific papers and book chapters in the areas of cognitive behavior therapy and anxiety disorders. He has received early career awards from the Society of Clinical Psychology (American Psychological Association), the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and is a fellow of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations. He is past president of the Anxiety Disorders Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and has been program chair for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual conference guide annual convention. He is actively involved in clinical research in the area of anxiety disorders, teaching, and education, and he maintains a private clinical practice. Antony lives in Toronto, ON, Canada. His website is martinantony.com.

Richard P. Swinson, MD, is professor emeritus and past chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada. He is also medical director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre and past psychiatrist-in-chief at Joseph's Healthcare, also in Hamilton. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists UK. He was awarded an inaugural fellowship of the Canadian Psychiatric Association in 2006. His research interests lie in the theory, assessment, and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder. He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers, thirty book chapters, and eight books. Dr. Swinson has held numerous research grants since 1966 and has been an invited speaker at many conferences around the world on anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders. He also chaired the steering committee for the Canadian Anxiety Treatment Guidelines Initiative, leading to the publication of Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Anxiety Disorders in 2006. He lives in Toronto, ON, Canada.

This revised and updated edition of When Perfect Isn't Good Enough offers the benefits of the latest research to readers who dread making mistakes and feel that nothing they do is quite good enough.

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Part 1 Understanding Perfectionism

Chapter 1 What Is Perfectionism? 9

Chapter 2 The Impact of Perfectionism 24

Chapter 3 Perfectionism and Thoughts 38

Chapter 4 Perfectionism and Behavior 60

Part 2 Strategies for Overcoming Perfectionism

Chapter 5 Measuring Your Perfectionism 81

Chapter 6 Developing a Plan for Change 99

Chapter 7 Changing Perfectionistic Thoughts 112

Chapter 8 Changing Perfectionistic Behaviors 132

Chapter 9 Accepting Imperfection 150

Part 3 Working with Specific Problems and Perfectionism

Chapter 10 Perfectionism and Depression 165

Chapter 11 Perfectionism and Anger 182

Chapter 12 Perfectionism and Social Anxiety 198

Chapter 13 Perfectionism and Worry 214

Chapter 14 Perfectionism and Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior 229

Chapter 15 Perfectionism, Dieting, and Body Image 245

Part 4 What Next?

Chapter 16 Preventing Perfectionism from Returning 263

Further Readings 271

References 281