Research into the anxiety disorders has advanced rapidly in the past decade, with significant implications for understanding and treating these prevalent and distressing problems. This timely volume brings together prominent authorities to provide a lucid, clinician-friendly overview of current developments in the field. Grounded in emotional processing theory and the seminal work of Edna B. Foa, the book presents ideas and treatment strategies that can be readily incorporated into practice. It also points toward important next steps for clinical research and the dissemination of empirically based interventions.

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic

Thirty years ago, it was estimated that less than five percent of the population had an anxiety disorder. Today, some estimates are over fifty percent, a tenfold increase. Is this dramatic rise evidence of a real medical epidemic?In All We Have to Fear, Allan Horwitz and Jerome Wakefield argue that psychiatry itself has largely generated this "epidemic" by inflating many natural fears into psychiatric disorders, leading to the over-diagnosis of anxiety disorders and the over-prescription of anxiety-reducing drugs. American psychiatry currently identifies disordered anxiety as irrational anxiety disproportionate to a real threat. Horwitz and Wakefield argue, to the contrary, that it can be a perfectly normal part of our nature to fear things that are not at all dangerous--from heights to negative judgments by others to scenes that remind us of past threats (as in some forms of PTSD). Indeed, this book argues strongly against the tendency to call any distressing condition a "mental disorder." To counter this trend, the authors provide an innovative and nuanced way to distinguish between anxiety conditions that are psychiatric disorders and likely require medical treatment and those that are not--the latter including anxieties that seem irrational but are the natural products of evolution. The authors show that many commonly diagnosed "irrational" fears--such as a fear of snakes, strangers, or social evaluation--have evolved over time in response to situations that posed serious risks to humans in the past, but are no longer dangerous today.Drawing on a wide range of disciplines including psychiatry, evolutionary psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history, the book illuminates the nature of anxiety in America, making a major contribution to our understanding of mental health.

Anxiety-based disorders are among the most common mental health problems experienced in the population today. Worry is a prominent feature of most anxiety-based disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Written by international experts, Worry and its Psychological Disorders offers an up-to-date and complete overview of worry in a single volume. Divided into four sections, the book explores the nature of worry, the assessment of worry, contemporary theories of chronic and pathological worry, and the most recently developed treatment methods. It includes in-depth reviews of new assessment instruments and covers treatment methods such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Metacognitive Therapy. Useful case studies are also included. This important volume provides an invaluable resource for clinical practitioners and researchers. It will also be of relevance to those studying clinical or abnormal psychology at advanced level.

In this book, the discussion of the normal and pathological aspects of anxiety is critically examined. A chapter on the molecular basis of anxiety is included, outlining the potential of such approach in the discovery of novel effective pharmacological interventions. The face validity, predictability and usefulness of animal models in the design of valid new efficacious products are discussed. Separate chapters dedicated to each particular type of anxiety such as generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic and obsessive-compulive disorder are included. This book should be of benefit to psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, general practitioners, nurses, students and all those engaged in neuropsychiatric research.

Concise, yet without skimping on information, this book reviews current theory and research, addresses important diagnostic issues, and provides salient details in a number of key areas related to GAD. Assessment procedures and treatment planning are covered, along with the latest therapy outcome data, including findings on newer therapies. Also detailed are specific cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, including cognitive strategies, psychoeducation, and anxiety monitoring.

It is widely recognized that chronic anxiety plays a central role in a broad variety of psychological and psychiatric disorders. Yet, despite its significance, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)--an official psychiatric diagnosis that is akin to chronic anxiety--is one of the newest, least studied, and most misunderstood of the anxiety disorders. Bringing together leading researchers who discuss the nature and treatment of GAD, this is the first book to focus specifically on the topic. In addition, the volume examines the overlap of GAD and depressive disorders, presenting important new information on mixed-anxiety depression (MAD). Providing a well-rounded approach, chapters in the first half of the volume address theoretical considerations while those in the second cover clinical issues. The book opens with a description of the general nature of anxiety and its relation to depression and stress that places GAD into the broad context of emotional disorders. As the primary characteristic of both chronic anxiety and GAD, the cognitive process of worry is discussed in detail. Remaining chapters describe the nature, etiology and treatment of the broad psychological construct of chronic anxiety and the specific psychiatric diagnosis of GAD. Biological and psychological factors are considered, as are issues of comorbidity. Clinical chapters commence with a discussion of the diagnosis of GAD and its revisions for DSM-IV. Recognizing that many individuals complain of equal mixtures of low levels of anxiety and depressed mood, particularly in primary care settings, the DSM-IV Task Force is considering the inclusion of mixed anxiety-depression (MAD) as a possible category. One chapter provides an overview of ongoing conceptual and empirical work on this topic. Other topics include pharmacotherapy and psychosocial treatments for GAD. Throughout, chapters are based on DSM-IV considerations. Providing readers with both a fundamental understanding of the topic and a detailed examination of clinical issues, CHRONIC ANXIETY will be valued by researchers in the area of psychiatric and emotional disorders as well as by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and general practitioners. The work also serves as a text for graduate courses on anxiety disorders, emotional disorders, psychopathology, and therapy.