Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Anxiety: Conceptualization and Treatment (Series in Anxiety and Related Disorders) [Hardcover]

Susan M. Orsillo (Editor), Lizabeth Roemer (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Series in Anxiety and Related Disorders | Publication Date: November 7, 2005

For many years, cognitive-behavioral techniques have been at the forefront of treatment for anxiety disorders. More recently, strategies rooted in Eastern concepts of acceptance and mindfulness have have demonstrated some promise in treating anxiety, especially in tandem with CBT. Now, with Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies for Anxiety, thirty expert clinicians and researchers present a comprehensive guide to integrating these powerful complementary approaches—where they match, when they differ, and why they work so well together. Chapter authors clearly place mindfulness and acceptance into the clinical lexicon, establishing links with established traditions, including emotion theory and experiential therapy. In addition, separate chapters discuss specific anxiety disorders, the current state of treatment for each, and practical ways of integrating acceptance and mindfulness approaches into therapy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Orsillo and Roemer are true scientist-practitioners with their broad and deep knowledge of cognitive behavioral concepts and their years of applying these concepts to relieve suffering from anxiety.  In this book they take us to the cutting-edge of new psychological approaches to anxiety disorders. Every clinician will want to be aware of these latest advances. David H. Barlow, Ph.D. Director, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University Professor of Psychology Research Professor of Psychiatry Few others could make the case for acceptance and mindfulness-based care of anxiety disorders as well as Orsillo and Roemer have done. Tacking deftly between innovation and empirical science this book shows how traditional anxiety treatments, supplemented by acceptance and mindfulness practices, can achieve an expanded scope of relevance and efficacy. Their careful operationalization and description of these practices along with a few caveats regarding this nascent union, enables the reader to navigate comfortably in novel territory. Ideal for therapists, researchers and students the material presented in this book will likely form the backbone of the next generation of treatment for complex anxiety disorders. -Zindel V. Segal, Ph.D., C.Psych. Morgan Firestone Chair in Psychotherapy Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology University of Toronto. In their innovative work toward a more complete understanding of the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders, and in their special concern for those patients who do not respond to existing treatments, Drs Roemer and Orsillo have led the field into new territory. In the past ten years, the integration of mindfulness-based approaches into existing psychological systems and therapies has been both informing and challenging for each side of the meeting. This timely book contains a useful summary of the many facets of this conversation, including the differing approaches to mindfulness and its use in clinical systems. It provides an excellent description of the development and progression of CBT approaches to the treatment of anxiety disorders and cogently presents the case for the natural progression of the integration of mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches into this field. James Carmody Ph.D. Director of Research, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare and Society Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Preventive & Behavioral Medicine University of Massachusetts Medical School

From the Back Cover

Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Anxiety: Conceptualization and Treatment Edited by Susan M. Orsillo, Suffolk University, Boston Lizabeth Roemer, University of Massachusetts, Boston For many years, cognitive-behavioral techniques have been at the forefront of treatment for anxiety disorders. More recently, strategies rooted in Eastern concepts of acceptance and mindfulness have demonstrated some promise in treating anxiety, especially in tandem with CBT. Now, with Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Anxiety, thirty expert clinicians and researchers present a comprehensive guide to integrating these powerful complementary approaches—where they match, when they differ, and why they work so well together. Chapter authors clearly place mindfulness and acceptance into the clinical lexicon, establishing links with established traditions, including emotion theory and experiential therapy. In addition, separate chapters discuss specific anxiety disorders, the current state of treatment for each, and practical ways of integrating acceptance and mindfulness approaches into therapy. Among the book’s highlights: - A detailed conceptual framework for combining acceptance-based and cognitive-behavioral approaches - Clinically valid definitions of acceptance and mindfulness, explaining their compatibility with more goal-driven and problem-solving therapies - Discussion on how acceptance and mindfulness can be accurately assessed - Demonstrations of three specific methods—Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills training—as used in treating clients with anxiety disorders. - Treatment models for generalized anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, social anxiety, and panic disorder - A specific chapter on applications of acceptance-based therapies for childhood anxiety disorders - Future directions for bettering our understanding of how these therapies work As the growing number of cases shows, anxiety remains a major clinical disorder, and practitioners need ready access to ideas and interventions. With this book, editors Orsillo and Roemer have created a forum inspiring future innovations and current best practice.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387259880
• ISBN-13: 978-0387259888
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific, foundational text, February 26, 2006

By 

Christopher Germer (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Anxiety: Conceptualization and Treatment (Series in Anxiety and Related Disorders) (Hardcover)

This impressive book is way more than a thoroughgoing review and analysis of a distinctly new approach to treating anxiety, which it accomplishes admirably well. It is a clear, foundational text on the "new wave" of empirically-validated psychological treatment-acceptance and mindfulness-based therapy. For mindfulness-oriented therapists of all stripes seeking the scientific foundation for what we do, this is it.

Susan Orsillo and Lizbeth Roemer have gathered together 30 scientist-practitioners (including themselves) under one cover, and had them tackle a variety of questions, such as, "What is the role of emotion in this new generation of empirically-validated treatment?" " What are the component parts of mindfulness?" "Are mindfulness and acceptance the same thing?" "How do the psychological processes of mindfulness and acceptance match up with the processes that create and sustain anxiety disorders?" "Is acceptance a cause or effect of treatment effectiveness?" "What are the limitations of current treatment approaches for anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or social anxiety, and how might the new approaches improve treatment?" "What exactly would a clinician do to treat anxiety, working from an ACT, DBT, or MBSR model?" "How would we treat anxious kids within this paradigm?" There is even an interesting chapter on the basic science-what goes on in the psychology lab that shows, or doesn't show, how a mindful and accepting attitude toward uncomfortable experience affects outcome.

This penetrating, scholarly volume will make some clinicians happy and willing-even proud-to return to the scientific fold. Experiential and relational psychotherapists will not feel left out. I routinely recommend this book to therapists and students who are curious why mindfulness is currently one of the hottest topics in psychotherapy, and to clinicians interested in the latest psychosocial treatments for anxiety.