This cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) workbook is a detailed, step-by-step account of how to do scientifically supported treatment with adults experiencing illness anxiety.
Written by two practitioners with years of specialized training and expertise in CBT for anxiety, this book provides a comprehensive overview of illness anxiety disorder and an exposure-based framework to target fear and avoidance. Detailed exercises and homework are included throughout, as well as charts, diagrams, and a relapse prevention plan. This workbook aims to give illness anxiety sufferers the skills needed to work through the therapeutic journey in decreasing anxiety and beginning recovery.
This book is essential for those with illness- or health-related anxiety looking to do self-help or to use with therapists in sessions, along with practicing clinicians who need specialized guidance.
1. Welcome to the Workbook 2. What Are My Problematic Health-Related Beliefs? 3. What Are My Problematic Health-Related Behaviors? 4. How Your Thinking Perpetuates Health Anxiety 5. Designing Your Exposure Hierachy 6. Common Cognitive Distortions 7. Interoceptive Exposures 8. Imaginal Exposures 9. Giving Healthcare an Approprite Role in Your Life 10. Living a Life in Which Risk and Safety Are Balanced 11. Moving Forward and Embracing a Full Life
Biography
Blaise Worden is a clinical psychologist and researcher at the Institute of Living, Anxiety Disorders Center in Hartford, CT.
Johanna Kaplan is a clinical psychologist and director of the Washington Anxiety Center of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
“The CBT Workbook for Illness Anxiety is an incredibly comprehensive resource that articulately explains everything you have ever wondered about illness anxiety or how to overcome it. Worden and Kaplan were able to share their deep knowledge of health anxiety and treatment in a manner that is equally informative yet digestible, and through a voice that is both supportive and kind. Unquestionably, this workbook will serve as a guiding light for so many who have struggled with illness anxiety by revealing the path back to a life that is no longer dictated by worries about health. This is a go-to book that I cannot wait to recommend to my clients and colleagues alike.”
Alison R. Menatti, Director, Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders, Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, MO
“Drs. Kaplan and Worden have demonstrated exceptional proficiency in crafting a comprehensible and highly motivational text that adeptly elucidates the deleterious impacts of health anxiety and offers effective strategies for its mitigation. The inclusion of meticulously designed worksheets enhances the practical applicability of the content, while the periodic reinforcement of the underlying motivational principles adds a discernible level of efficacy to the overall therapeutic approach.”
Mary E “Beth” Salcedo, Medical Director, Ross Center, Washington DC; past President of Anxiety and Depression Association of America
