Handbook of Exposure Therapies

Exposure Therapy refers to any clinical intervention in which a client directly confronts a source of fear. Since high levels of anxiety can not be maintained indefinitely, repeated exposure leads to decreased anxiety. This type of treatment is effective with phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorders, panic, generalized anxiety, and several other disorders. It's also been found to be effective in helping to treat substance abuse. Although exposure-based treatments have been extensively researched and reported in the literature, there is no single comprehensive treatment of exposure therapies. Writings tend to be limited to larger pieces on treating specific disorders or types of patients. A comprehensive book on the use of these treatments across patient disorders will be of great use to practitioners.

The book is divided into three sections: Foundation, Applications, and Issues. Foundation chapters considers theoretical and assessment issues. Applications chapters will discuss research literature on each disorder having been proven to be successfully treated with exposure therapy. Issue chapters will discuss liability issues, false memory syndrome, and the use of computers and virtual reality in exposure therapy.

*Covers the broad range of exposure therapies in one comprehensive source
*Provides an integrated look at exposure therapy across a variety of disorders
*Each such chapter will include a case study
*Blends literature review and practice guidelines

Contributors
Preface

1. Description, Mechanisms of Action, and Assessment
2. Animal Models of Exposure Therapy: A Selective Review
3. Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Interventions for the Anxiety Disorders: Overview and Newer Third-Generation Perspectives
4. Translational Research Perspectives on Maximizing the Effectiveness of Exposure Therapy
5. Exposure Therapy and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
6. Exposure Therapy with Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
7. Issues in Conducting Exposure Therapy to Treat Combat Veterans' PTSD
8. Exposure Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
9. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy and the Treatment of Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
10. Exposure Treatments for Panic Disorder with and without Agoraphobia
11. Exposure Therapy for Phobias
12. Applications of Exposure Techniques in Behavioral Medicine
13. Exposure Therapy for Hypochondriasis
14. The Effect of Pharmacotherapy on the Effectiveness of Exposure Therapy
15. Pharmacological Enhancement of Learning in Exposure Therapy
16. Virtual Reality Applications for Exposure
17. Obstacles to Successful Implementation of Exposure Therapy
18. Exposure Therapy Has a Public Relations Problem: A Dearth of Litigation Amid a Wealth of Concern

Appedix
Index