Anxiety Disorders And Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective [Paperback]

Aaron T. Beck (Author), Gary Emery (Author), Ruth L. Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465003850 | ISBN-13: 978-0465003853 | Publication Date: January 1, 1991

The founder of cognitive therapy and two colleagues apply the concepts of cognitive therapy, used successfully in treating depression, to the treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias. Part I shows how the activation of specific nonadaptive cognitive patterns leads to the complex symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, simple phobias, and the evaluation anxieties. Part II shows how distorted perceptions of threat and danger are corrected through cognitive restructuring, relaxation, and distraction techniques and through such behavioral methods as exposure therapy and activity scheduling.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Indispensable reading for students and experienced practitioners alike." -- --Hans Strupp, Ph.D.A

"The authors succeed in adding the very important cognitive dimension to our understanding of the anxiety disorders...strongly recommended." -- --Nancy C. Andreason,American Journal of Psychiatry

About the Author

Aaron T. Beck is university professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia. Gary Emery is director of the Los Angeles Center for Cognitive Therapy and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA. Ruth L. Greenberg is a psychologist in private practice, and trains psychotherapists at the Center for Cognitive Therapy. Aaron T. Beck is university professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia. Gary Emery is director of the Los Angeles Center for Cognitive Therapy and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA. Ruth L. Greenberg is a psychologist in private practice, and trains psychotherapists at the Center for Cognitive Therapy. Aaron T. Beck is university professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia. Gary Emery is director of the Los Angeles Center for Cognitive Therapy and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA. Ruth L. Greenberg is a psychologist in private practice, and trains psychotherapists at the Center for Cognitive Therapy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465003850
• ISBN-13: 978-0465003853
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beck's Anxiety Disorders and Phobias - Cognitive Perspective, April 25, 2000

By 

Osher Doctorow, Ph.D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anxiety Disorders And Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective (Paperback)

Every day, veterans of the Vietnam War commit suicide in deep depression. With the United States almost continually cutting its Veterans Administration budget, you would think that the V.A. would give up, but books like those of Beck help it treat and cure depression and anxiety. The Cognitive Therapy uses Socratic questioning, training people to ask why they feel sad or anxious, what their answers mean, to substitute more effective coping thoughts for ineffective thoughts and wrong ideas (illogical ideas, like "everybody is against me," "I'm born to fail," etc.). Patients record in diaries or logs what events trigger these wrong thoughts and learn to instantly respond with other thoughts and actions. This is one of the greatest books in psychology and psychiatry, and should be read by the young people of all ages (many of whom are depressed) as well as the older ones.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful - for patients as well as therapists, September 11, 2007

By 

Wilma James (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective (Paperback)

I picked up this book years ago (before getting therapy for my own anxiety disorder) and quickly gained much insight into the many variants of phobia and anxiety disorders. The explanations are clear, allowing laypersons as well as experts a good level of understanding.

While the book is definitely geared toward therapists interested in learning Beck's cognitive therapy approach, it is certainly useful to any patient or relative who is confronted with such problems -- above all the first half of the book! I really appreciated not being talked down to as in so many patient-oriented books.

Beck opens with an overview of everyday experience of fear and anxiety. Next, he describes the adaptive purpose of anxiety responses ("fight or flight") putting anxiety disorders on a dimension with normal behavior. He continues on to discuss the difference between "normal" and "pathological" forms of anxiety, addressing the major symptoms and thought patterns associated with clinical forms. He then gives an overview of clinical anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, atypical anxiety disorder, phobic disorders (of which there are many kinds), agoraphobia, social phobia and simple phobias.

He then presents his cognitive model of threat reactions and in-depth chapters focussing on anxiety disorder clusters ("Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder", "Simple Phobias", "The Agoraphobic Syndrome", and "The Evaluation Anxieties" social phobia and social anxiety). The second part of the book is devoted to his principles and strategies/techniques of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The fact that new editions of this book have been published every few years over the past 2 decades is a tribute to its usefulness.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of the Cognitive Perspective, but has some flaws..., March 9, 2008

By 

Matt Mandelbaum (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anxiety Disorders And Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective (Paperback)

This book offers a great overview of the subject, anxiety disorders and phobias, from a cognitive perspective. The book is divided into two parts, a clinical/theoretical analysis and a practical outline of the application of the theory in therapy, authored by Beck and Emery, respectively.

The book accomplishes its aim of laying down the fundamentals from a cognitive perspective, but does have some flaws. First, much of the anecdotal evidence is just that--anecdotal. Specific studies aren't often mentioned, especially in the second part of the book. Additionally, the book does not address the importance of approaching psychological topics from multiple perspectives. That is, the book does not inform the reader of the other perspectives. So, if you take a more biologically-oriented perspective towards behavior and psychopathology, it is difficult to not take much of the book with a grain of salt. All in all, however, it is a good overview of the cognitive perspective on the issue.