Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychiatric problems : a practical guide

Cognitive behaviour therapy is now established as the leading psychological treatment for many psychiatric conditions. This innovative book gives a guide to practising the therapy with patients suffering from a wide range of emotional disorders. Unlike other handbooks which extensively review research findings, this concentrates on showing the reader how to perform the therapy in practice. Acknowledged experts in the practice, teaching, and empirical investigation of cognitive behaviour therapy contribute to the book. It provides a summary of the cognitive behavioural principles on which the therapy is based, followed by a detailed account of how to carry out a cognitive-behavioural assessment. Subsequent chapters provide self-contained descriptions of how to use the therapy to treat particular conditions: panic and generalized anxiety, phobic disorders, depression, obsessional disorders, somatic problems, eating disorders, chronic psychiatric handicaps, marital problems, and sexual dysfunctions. A final chapter provides a description of problem-solving training. Each chapter describes the condition, assessment procedures, factors likely to be important in formulating the problem, and then the treatment, step-by-step. Particular attention is paid to overcoming difficulties encountered during treatment, and extensive use is made of clinical material and case illustrations. This is an excellent guide to the practice of cognitive behaviour therapy for all those beginning to use the technique.