Emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, and dysfunctional patterns of eating are clearly among the most devastating and prevalent confronting practitioners, and they have received much attention from researchers--in personality, social, cognitive, and developmental psychology, as well as in clinical psychology and psychiatry. A major recent focus has been cognitive vulnerability, which seems to set the stage for recurrences of symptoms and episodes. In the last five years there has been a rapid proliferation of studies. In this book, leading experts present the first broad synthesis of what we have now learned about the nature, of cognitive factors that seem to play a crucial role in creating and maintaining vulnerability across the spectrum of emotional disorders. An introductory chapter considers theory and research design and methodology and constructs a general conceptual framework for understanding and studying the relationships between developmental and cognitive variables and later risk, and the difference between distal cognitive antecedents of disorders (e.g. depressive inferential styles, dysfunctional attitudes) and proximal ones (e.g. schema activation or inferences). Subsequent chapters are organized into three sections, on mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. Each section ends with an integrative overview chapter that offers both incisive commentary and insightful suggestions for further systematic research. A rich resource for all those professionally concerned with these problems, Cognitive Vulnerability to Emotional Disorders advances both clinical science and clinical practice.

Recurrence of depressive episodes is not uncommon, even after successful treatment. What makes some people more vulnerable than others to this devastating disorder? Do depressive individuals have characteristic thinking and reasoning styles? By what means can cognitive antecedents to affective disorders be identified at different stages in the lifespan, and how can the risks they represent be mitigated? An important resource for anyone who seeks to understand or treat depression, this volume synthesizes the most current research and theory on cognitive vulnerability. Covering methodological, theoretical, and empirical issues, the authors review cognitive theories of depression; explicate and assess the vulnerability approach to psychopathology; and formulate an integrative view of the key proximal and distal antecedents of depression in adults.

The clinical experience of cognitive therapies is adding to the understanding of emotional disorders. Based on clinical experience and evidence, this groundbreaking book represents a development of cognitive therapy through the concept of metacognition. It provides guidelines for innovative treatments of emotional disorders and goes on to offer conceptual arguments for the future development of cognitive therapy. Offers a new concept in cognitive therapy and guidelines for innovative treatment. Clinically grounded, based on a thorough understanding of cognitive therapies in practice. Written by a recognized authority and established author.

This stimulating resource presents the Looming Vulnerability Model, a nuanced take on the cognitive-behavioral conceptualization of anxiety, worry, and other responses to real or imagined threat. The core feature of the model—the perception of growing, rapidly approaching threat—is traced to humans’ evolutionary past, and this dysfunctional perception is described as it affects cognitive processing, executive functioning, emotions, physiology, and behavior. The LVM framework allows for more subtle understanding of mechanisms of and risk factors for the range of anxiety disorders as well as for more elusive subclinical forms of anxiety, worry, and fear. In addition, the authors ably demonstrate how the LVM can inform and refine cognitive-behavioral and other approaches to conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of these often disabling conditions. This important volume: · Introduces the Looming Vulnerability Model in its evolutionary, developmental, cognitive, and ecological contexts. · Unites diverse theoretical strands regarding anxiety, fear, and worry including work on wildlife behavior, experimental cognition and perception, neuroimaging, and emotion. · Defines the looming cognitive style as a core aspect of vulnerability. · Describes the measurement of the looming cognitive style, Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire, and measures of looming vulnerability for specific disorders. · Details diverse clinical applications of the LVM across the anxiety disorders. Spotlighting phenomena particularly relevant to current times, Looming Vulnerability, brings a wealth of important new ideas to researchers studying anxiety disorders and practitioners seeking more avenues for treating anxiety in their patients.

Theorists are increasingly arguing that it is fruitful to approach anxiety from the cognitive perspective, and the empirical evidence supports that contention. The cognitive perspective is also adopted in this book, but the approach represents a development and extension of earlier ones. For example, most previous theories and research have been based on anxiety either in clinical or in normal groups. In contrast, one of the central themes of this book is that there are great advantages to be gained from a joint consideration of clinical and normal anxiety. Another theme of this book is that it is of major importance to establish whether or not there is a cognitive vulnerability factor which is associated with at least some forms of clinical anxiety. It is argued (with supporting evidence) that there is a latent cognitive vulnerability factor for generalized anxiety disorder which manifests itself under stressful conditions. This vulnerability factor is characterized by hypervigilance, and is found predominantly in normals high in the personality dimension of trait anxiety. The scope of the book extends to the effects of anxiety on performance and to the phenomenon of worry, which is regarded as the cognitive component of anxiety. In both cases, a new theoretical framework is presented. Correction notice: In chapter 4, on pages 70-71, Christos Halkiopoulos should have been credited for his role as the inventor of the Dot Probe Paradigm and for the design and execution of the experiment discussed in Eysenck, M. W. (1991 a). Trait anxiety and cognition. In C. D. Spielberger, I. G. Sarason, Z. Kulczar, and J. Van Heck (Eds.), Stress and Emotion, Vol. 14. London: Hemisphere.

Cognitive Biases in Health and Psychiatric Disorders: Neurophysiological Foundations focuses on the neurophysiological basis of biases in attention, interpretation, expectancy and memory. Each chapter includes a review of each specific bias, including both positive and negative information in both healthy individuals and psychiatric populations. This book provides readers with major theories, methods used in investigating biases, brain regions associated with the related bias, and autonomic responses to specific biases. Its end goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the neural, autonomic and cognitive mechanisms related to processing biases. - Outlines neurophysiological research on diverse types of information processing bias, including attention bias, expectancy bias, interpretation bias, and memory bias - Discusses both normal and pathological forms of each cognitive biases - Provides specific examples on how to translate research on cognitive biases to clinical applications

One of the hallmarks of cognitive behavior therapy is its diversity today. Since its inception, over twenty five years ago, this once revolutionary approach to psychotherapy has grown to encompass treatments across the full range of psychological disorders. The Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy brings together all of the key aspects of this field distilling decades of clinical wisdom into one authoritative volume. With a preface by Aaron T. Beck, founder of the cognitive approach, the Encyclopedia features entries by noted experts including Arthur Freeman, Windy Dryden, Marsha Linehan, Edna Foa, and Thomas Ollendick to name but a few, and reviews the latest empirical data on first-line therapies and combination approaches, to give readers both insights into clients’ problems and the most effective treatments available. • Common disorders and conditions: anxiety, depression, OCD, phobias, sleep disturbance, eating disorders, grief, anger • Essential components of treatment: the therapeutic relationship, case formulation, homework, relapse prevention • Treatment methods: dialectical behavior therapy, REBT, paradoxical interventions, social skills training, stress inoculation, play therapy, CBT/medicine combinations • Applications of CBT with specific populations: children, adolescents, couples, dually diagnosed clients, the elderly, veterans, refugees • Emerging problems: Internet addiction, chronic pain, narcolepsy pathological gambling, jet lag All entries feature reference lists and are cross-indexed. The Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy capably fills practitioners’ and educators’ needs for an idea book, teaching text, or quick access to practical, workable interventions.

"..a blending of two important approaches to understanding psychopathology- the developmental approach and the vulnerability approach. I think a book like this is timely, is needed, and would be of interest to professors who teach courses in psychopathology at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels." — Robin Lewis, Old Dominion University "Bringing together developmental psychopathology frameworks and the vulnerability-stress models of psychological disorders is an excellent idea. I am aware of no other book that incorporates these two approaches. Having taught Psychopathology courses for both master′s and doctoral students, I reviewed many books to recommend and use in the courses. It is my belief that a book of this type is needed particularly for graduate students." —Linda Guthrie, Tennessee State University Edited by Benjamin L. Hankin and John R. Z. Abela, Development of Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective brings together the foremost experts conducting groundbreaking research into the major factors shaping psychopathological disorders across the lifespan in order to review and integrate the theoretical and empirical literature in this field. The volume editors build upon two important and established research and clinical traditions: developmental psychopathology frameworks and vulnerability-stress models of psychological disorders. In the past two decades, each of these separate approaches has blossomed. However, despite the scientific progress each has achieved individually, no forum previously brought these traditions together in the unified way accomplished in this book. Key Features: Consists of three-part text that systematically integrates vulnerability-stress models of psychopathology with a developmental psychopathological approach. Brings together leading experts in the field of vulnerability, stress, specific vulnerabilities to psychological disorders, psychopathological disorders, and clinical interventions. Takes a cross-theoretical, integrative approach presenting cutting-edge theory and research at a sophisticated level. Development of Psychopathology will be a valuable resource for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in clinical psychology, as well as for researchers, doctoral students, clinicians, and instructors in the areas of developmental psychopathology, clinical psychology, experimental psychopathology, psychiatry, counseling psychology, and school psychology.

The way we make sense of emotional situations has long been considered a foundation for the construction of our emotional experiences. Sometimes emotional meanings become distorted and so do our emotional experiences become disturbed. In the last decades, an embodied construction of emotional meanings has emerged. In this book, the embodied simulation framework is introduced for distorted emotional and motivational appraisals such as irrational beliefs, focusing on hyper-reactive emotional and motivational neural embodied simulations as core processes of cognitive vulnerability to emotional disorders. By embodying distorted emotional cognition we can extend the traditional views of the development of distorted emotional appraisals beyond learning from stress-sensitization process. Conclusions for the conceptualization of distorted emotional appraisals and treatment implications are discussed. Distorted emotional cognitions such as rigid thinking (I should succeed), awfulizing (It’s awful) and low frustration tolerance (I can’t stand it) are both vulnerabilities to emotional disorders and targets of psychotherapy. In this book, I argue that distorted emotional cognitions which act as proximal vulnerability to emotional disorders are embodied in hyper-reactive neural states involved in dysregulated emotions. Traditionally, excessive negative knowledge has been considered the basis of the cognitive vulnerability to emotional disorders. I suggest that the differences in the affective embodiments of distorted cognition confer its vulnerability status, rather than the differences in dysfunctional knowledge. I propose that negative knowledge and stress-induced brain changes conflate each other in building cognitive vulnerability to disturbed emotion. This model of distorted emotional cognition suggests new integration of learning and medication interventions in psychotherapy. This book is an important contribution to the literature given that a new model for the conceptualization of cognitive vulnerability is presented which extends the way we integrate biological, behavioral, and memory interventions in cognitive restructuring. This work is part of a larger project on embodied clinical cognition.

From leading experts in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)--including CBT originator Aaron T. Beck and many who have worked closely with him--this book provides an overview of where the field is today and presents cutting-edge research and clinical applications. Contributors explain how Beck's cognitive model has been refined and tested over the last 45 years and describe innovative CBT approaches that integrate mindfulness, imagery, emotion-focused interventions, and other strategies. Chapters on specific clinical problems cover the conceptualization and treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive?compulsive disorder, insomnia, suicidality, substance abuse, couple and family problems, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and personality disorders. ÿ