Cognitive-behavioral Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Medical understanding of the nature and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has dramatically increased over the past 15 years. Recent studies have shown that GAD is a common disorder, with one-year and lifetime prevalence rates of approximately 1.6% and 5.1% respectively. Contrary to previously held assumptions, Gad leads to considerable distress and impairment, which translate into substantial personal, social, and financial costs. Research into the nature of GAD has provided a number of theoretically-driven and empirically-supported conceptualizations have spawned cognitive-behavioral treatments for GAD, a few of which have received empirical support in controlled clinical trials. The main objective of this book is to present a detailed analysis of the etiology, assessment, and treatment of GAD by focusing on the cognitive-behavioral model and treatment options for GAD. Following chapters would provide a review of the empirical support for the different models of GAD, a detailed description of the assessment and step-by-step treatment of GAD (including many examples of therapist-client dialogue), and data on treatment efficacy in individual and group therapy. The book would conclude with a description of maintenance and follow-up strategies. There are a disproportionately small number of treatment manuals for effective interventions for individuals with what newer evidence has shown to be an increasingly common and widespread disorder. This handbook would be a useful tool for clinical and counseling psychologists in treatment of GAD, and a welcome addition to our new series.