Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Jayne L. Rygh, PhD, is a senior psychologist at the Cognitive Therapy Center of New York, where she is both a psychotherapist and a supervisor. She treats clients suffering primarily from anxiety, depressive, and personality disorders, using cognitive-behavioral and schema therapies. In addition, Dr. Rygh has served as an independent evaluator and research psychotherapist in numerous National Institute of Mental Health grants on the treatment of anxiety disorders.William C. Sanderson, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University. He has served on numerous national committees, including the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV Anxiety Disorders Workgroup, and was recently Chair of the Committee on Science and Practice (a task force aimed at identifying and promoting the practice of empirically supported psychological interventions) of the American Psychological Association's Division of Clinical Psychology. Dr. Sanderson has published six books and more than 85 articles and chapters, primarily in the areas of anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

This is a valuable treatment guide for clinicians. It provides a good theoretical rationale for developing and utilizing the techniques that are most important. The clear and practical writing is wonderful and the large format will be a great help for using the patient forms.--Robert L. Leahy, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Weill-Cornell University Medical CollegeGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) is stubborn and pervasive. Most patients presenting with other emotional disorders also suffer from GAD, and it is an invariant companion to depression. Now Rygh and Sanderson present the most comprehensive and authoritative treatment manual yet published for GAD. These superb clinicians are intimately familiar with the research, and do not lose sight of the difficulties encountered in day-to-day practice. This volume should be on every clinician’s bookshelf.--David H. Barlow, PhD, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston UniversityRygh and Sanderson’s book provides a comprehensive description of the empirically supported approaches to GAD, covering both theoretical underpinnings and technical procedures. Numerous clinical vignettes demonstrate how to present clients with the rationale for the various interventions, as well as how to implement them. Therapists will appreciate being able to give clients a variety of handouts and forms designed to support each aspect of treatment. This book will also be an excellent text for graduate students learning to conduct cognitive-behavioral therapy.--Cynthia L. Turk, PhD, Anxiety Treatment and Research Center, La Salle UniversityGeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD) is possibly one of the most difficult and treatment-resistant conditions facing the practicing therapist. This book provides the most comprehensive collection of techniques I have seen for managing GAD. It includes new twists on and applications of traditional strategies as well as some of the latest, cutting-edge methods. The clear, detailed descriptions and realistic examples will be welcomed by clinicians from a wide variety of backgrounds.--Ronald M. Rapee, PhD, Macquarie University Anxiety Research Unit and Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Australia- The audience for this manual is very clearly the clinician who is relatively new to cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) and/or who has limited experience treating anxiety disorders in general, or GAD in particular. This book will also be useful to more experienced clinicians and educators who train others in these areas. The authors have put considerable effort into sifting through the evidence-based literature in combination with their experience to provide an overview of what strategies are effective in the treatment of GAD. They have even extended this perspective to some of the newer variations on CBT by including information on such areas as mindfulness and emotional processing and regulation training. On the whole, Rygh & Sanderson's text is a useful addition to the clinician's library. --Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews, 6/16/2004ƒƒ A quick and satisfying read....Reading Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder gave me a new appreciation of the disorder as something other than just a residual category and of the usefulness of having a variety of documented cognitive and behavioral techniques to address the central problem in the disorder, the avoidance of affect through worry, checking and restricted behavior....This book could help multi- and transdisciplinary teams to come to consensus about interventions for anxiety and depression in primary care....I think it would be useful for clinicians in training, and for eclectic clinicians like myself who need a well-founded but brief review of cognitive-behavioral principles and practices to bring us back up to speed on this important modality. --Psychiatric Services, 6/16/2004

• 1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Diagnosis, Theories, and Treatment2. A General Description of Treatment3. Assessment and Treatment Planning4. Socialization to Treatment5. Treating the Cognitive Component6. Treating the Physiological Component7. Treating the Behavioral Component8. Supplementary Treatment Techniques9. Ending Treatment