Anxiety Disorders: A Practitioner's Guide Book

This is an overview of recent developments in the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders. As an audience the book is aimed at interested professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, general practitioners and social workers, and trainees in these fields. The overwhelming amount of literature on the subject makes it impossible to summarize in this book all studies into anxiety disorders that have appeared in the past few years. Therefore, the scope is restricted to the main issues. In the first part of the book, case descriptions and examples are included to alert workers in the (mental) health care on the various manifestations of anxiety disorders. The clinical description of the disorders is based upon the classification principles according to the third revised version of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-111-R) from the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 1987). Thus, the book can be regarded as an annotated version of these widely used diagnostic criteria pertaining to anxiety disorders. In this sense the information is also of relevance for those interested in diagnostic issues, and for those wanting to gain insight into possibilities for referral. A major part of the text is devoted to treatment guidelines. However, it should be emphasized that this book cannot be considered a treatment manual. The latter implies an extensive knowledge about and training in general psychopathology, in which professional activities carried out under supervision are an important ingredient. The chapters on treatment depart from a (cognitive) behavioural point of view, because of the important results in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It should be pointed out that, although the description of the procedures is restricted to the treatment of outpatients, most techniques can easily be adapted to inpatient settings. Details of case descriptions are changed in such a way as to warrant the patients' privacy. Furthermore, the authors have chosen to use the word "patient" instead of "client". This choice, however, does not imply adherence to a medical model of psychopathology; it merely reflects the current use in general text books.Read More