Main description:

Contemporary culture includes a high awareness of personal and global health hazards. Many people may feel some anxiety in this regard, but some develop an unbearable sense of dread that prevents them from functioning. Treating Health Anxiety gives prescribing and non-prescribing clinicians, as well as the counselors and social workers who encounter the problem, the tools to reduce both the fears and the medical costs that so often accompany them.

Contents:

Acknowledgments and Preface PART I: UNDERSTANDING HEALTH ANXIETY Chapter 1. Fear of Illness and Death Chapter 2. Etiological Factors Chapter 3. A Cognitive Behavioral Perspective PART II: ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF HEALTH ANXIETY Chapter 4. Treatment of Health Anxiety: What Are the Choices? Chapter 5. Assessment and Diagnostic Issues Chapter 6. Overview of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Chapter 7. Response Prevention and Coping with Physical Symptoms Chapter 8. Exposure to Feared Illnesses and Symptoms Chapter 9. Cognitive Interventions Chapter 10. Overcoming Fear of Death Chapter 11. Satisfaction and Enjoyment of Life Chapter 12. Pharmacological Treatment Chapter 13. Troubleshooting and Coping with Setbacks PART III: SPECIAL POPULATIONS Chapter 14. Health Anxiety and Somatization in Children Chapter 15. Health Anxiety in Illness and Aging REFERENCES