Bilişsel terapinin kurucusu Aaron Beck ve çalışma arkadaşı Gary Emery’nin psikoterapotik alanda önemli bişr tedavi yöntemi olarak kullanılan Bilişsel Terapinin, anksiyete ve fobi tedavisinde de ne kadar etkili olduğunu klinik bulguların desteğinde ortaya koydukları çalışması Ansksiyete Bozuklukları ve Fobiler, sonraki pek çok çalışmaya kuramsal çerçeve oluşturmuş başat eserlerden biridir.
İki bölümden oluşan kitabın Beck tarafından kaleme alınan ilk kısmında anksiyete bozuklukları ve fobilerin klinik tablosu ayrıntılı olarak incelenmekte ve bu görüngülerin pek çok açılıma sahip çetrefilli yapılarını kavrayabilmek için açıklamalı bir model sunulmaktadır. Gary Emery tarafından hazırlanan ikinci kısımda ise, anksiyete bozuklukları ve fobilerin bilişsel modelleri temel alınarak geliştirilen sağaltıcı prensipler, stratejiler ve taklitler detaylı biçimde incelenmektedir.
Depresyonun tedavisinde başarıyla uygulanan Bilişsel Terapinin, anksiyete fobiler ve bunlarla bağlantılı bellek yanlılıkları, örtük ilişkilendirmeler, imaj kurma, panik bozukluklar, sosyal fobiler, travma sonrası bozukluklar, stres bozukluğu vb. alanlardaki uygulamalarını göstererek kuramın genişliğini ve zenginliğini okura sunmaktadır.
Aaron Temkin Beck was an American psychiatrist who was a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is regarded as the father of cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). His pioneering methods are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression and various anxiety disorders. Beck also developed self-report measures for depression and anxiety, notably the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which became one of the most widely used instruments for measuring the severity of depression. In 1994 he and his daughter, psychologist Judith S. Beck, founded the nonprofit Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which provides CBT treatment and training, as well as research. Beck served as President Emeritus of the organization up until his death. Beck was noted for his writings on psychotherapy, psychopathology, suicide, and psychometrics. He published more than 600 professional journal articles, and authored or co-authored 25 books. He was named one of the "Americans in history who shaped the face of American psychiatry", and one of the "five most influential psychotherapists of all time" by The American Psychologist in July 1989. His work at the University of Pennsylvania inspired Martin E.P. Seligman to refine his own cognitive techniques and later work on learned helplessness.
I read this book to supplement my therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, and ended up getting quite a bit of valuable information out of it, even if it isn't the most up-to-date source on best practices in treating GAD and other anxiety disorders. It is very dense and at times inaccessible to the general public (mostly in part two), but the majority is rich in relatable information that can be valuable to sufferers of anxiety to put words to their feelings. I know it's helped me a lot in that way. While part two reads more like a manual for therapists, there are quite a few strategies that anxious patients can use to supplement their own treatment. At the end of the day, this book is dated and imperfect (cognitive-behavioral therapy is the current dominant mode of treatment, and this work largely minimizes the behavioral component), but there is still gobs of information to benefit sufferers of anxiety disorders and help them learn to live with and move past their worries.
A fair treatment of the cognitive side of anxiety disorders, but as is par for the course, pays little attention to the biological and genetic side of anxiety.
I recommend this psychology book to everyone that has an anxiety disorder. By learning what anxiety is in this book you will in turn learn how to treat it.
Very helpful overview. Enjoyed the second part describing treatment strategies more than the initial overview, which was a little cumbersome. Definitely worth reading.
I read this for a class and it was a little dense to read. The first part of the book about anxiety and phobias through a cognitive lens is really insightful.