Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic: Workbook(Treatments That Work)

The fifth edition of Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic, Workbook, has been fully revised and updated to offer helpful, scientifically proven strategies and techniques for dealing with both panic disorder and agoraphobia. The program outlined is based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and is organized by skill, with each chapter building on the one before it. The Workbook covers the importance of record-keeping and monitoring progress, as well as breathing techniques and thinking skills, with the main focus of the treatment involving the importance of learning how to face agoraphobic situations, and the often-frightening physical symptoms of panic, from an entirely new perspective. Self-assessment quizzes, homework exercises, and interactive forms allow clients to become active participants in their own treatment, and to learn to manage panic attacks, anxiety about panic, and avoidance of panic and agoraphobic situations.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Nature of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia PART I: BASICS Chapter 2: Learning to Record Panic and Anxiety Chapter 3: Negative Cycles of Panic and Agoraphobia Chapter 4: Panic Attacks Are Not Harmful PART II: COPING SKILLS Chapter 5: Establishing Your Hierarchy of Agoraphobia Situations Chapter 6: Breathing Skills Chapter 7: Thinking Skills PART III: EXPOSURE TO FEARED SYMPTOMS AND SITUATIONS Chapter 8: Facing Physical Symptoms Chapter 9: Facing Agoraphobia Situations Chapter 10: Involving Others PART IV: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Chapter 11: Medications Chapter 12: Accomplishments, Maintenance, and Relapse Prevention Appendix: Answers to Self-Assessment Quizzes

About the Author :
David H. Barlow is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Emeritus and the Founder of the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. He has published over 650 articles and chapters and over 90 books and clinical manuals. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary degrees from the University of Vermont and William James College, and the two highest awards in psychology, the Distinguished Scientific Award for Applications of Psychology from the American Psychological Association and James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science honoring individuals for their lifetime of significant intellectual achievements in applied psychological research. Michelle G. Craske, Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Miller Family Endowed Term Chair, Director of the Anxiety and Depression Research Center, and Associate Director of the Staglin Family Music Center for Behavioral and Brain Health, at UCLA. She has published extensively in the area of fear, anxiety and depression and has been the recipient of extramural funding since 1993 for research pertaining to cognitive, behavioral, psychophysiological and neural risk factors for anxiety and depression that have informed novel treatments; innovative approaches to optimizing therapies such as virtual reality; and implementing scalable treatment models to underserved populations.

Review :
I had the good fortune of being one of the first groups of therapists to receive training in the delivery of PCT from Drs. Barlow and Craske at The State University of New York at Albany. I used the first version and each of the editions in my private practice and published evidence of its effectiveness in a private practice setting. The fourth edition is currently used in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan for training therapists and in our clinical work. This 5th edition contains all the state of the art and user-friendly format, but importantly, it now integrates an inhibitory learning focus to maximize the effectiveness of the exposure procedures. I enthusiastically welcome this new edition of this state-of-the-art treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia. This suite of therapist manuals and patient workbooks, focusing on cutting edge CBT treatment for panic disorder, remains a classic in the field. The authors are internationally renowned for their expertise in this area and have updated the text with new research, an enhanced emphasis on inhibitory learning to inform the process and conduct of exposure exercises, and new and improved case material. Starting with the previous version, the program pays more attention to variability in how fast or slow a client is able move through the treatment, improving the patient—treatment 'match'. The end result facilitates implementation for the user and is in a way like having a personal supervision experience with the authors. The Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic volumes - the therapist guide and the workbooks for clients - are indisputably the finest evidence-based books for helping people overcome panic disorder. The workbooks for clients, including one suitable for primary care settings, are engaging, informative, and devoid of jargon, rendering them ideal for anyone struggling with panic attacks.