Integrative Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

As clinical and economic pressures mount, mental health professionals increasingly turn to integrated treatment approaches in their quest to improve treatment response. Particularly in the treatment of anxiety disorders, concurrent psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy may offer patients faster, more significant, and more lasting gains. Integrative Treatment of Anxiety Disorders illuminates the process whereby combined modalities can produce synergistic effects. The book provides an overview of the spectrum of anxiety disorders -- generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, performance anxiety, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder -- and reviews their treatment alternatives. The integration of pharmacotherapy with cognitive-behavior psychotherapy is emphasized throughout. Because integrative treatment usually implies a collaborative effort among two or more clinicians, issues of referral management, treatment planning, and collaboration are thoroughly covered. In addition, special attention is devoted to anxiety disorders in specific patient groups -- the pediatric, medically ill, and substance-abusing populations. In today's health care climate, it behooves clinicians to be knowledgeable about the range of available treatments for a given disorder, not only to help patients participate in an informed-consent process regarding treatment options but also to effectively orchestrate appropriate additive and adjunctive therapy. Toward this end, Integrative Treatment of Anxiety Disorders provides comprehensive guidance for practitioners who work with patients with anxiety disorders.