Treating Health Anxiety and Fear of Death: A Practitioner's Guide

Never has our culture been more aware of personal and global health hazards, from both within and without. While most people may feel some anxiety in this regard, some have an unbearable sense of dread that prevents them from functioning. Chronic health anxiety - heightened fears of illness, disease, and death - is a central feature of hypochondriasis, of course, but can also present as depression, generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, and other diagnoses. "Treating Health Anxiety" offers the professional reader not only an understanding of this condition, but also an easily implemented cognitive/behavioral program for reducing fear of illness, overcoming the fear of death, and getting more enjoyment from life, including: step-by-step coverage of the assessment process and therapy sessions; patient worksheets and self-monitoring forms; specific guidelines for treating health anxiety in children and the elderly; strategies for handling impasses and setbacks; and an up-to-date guide to pharmacotherapy for health anxiety. As media attention to health issues increases, client fears of illness won't go away any time soon."Treating Health Anxiety" gives prescribing and non-prescribing clinicians (as well as the counselors and social workers who encounter the problem) the tools to reduce both the fears and the medical costs that so often accompany them.