Gary Emery Livres

The founder of cognitive therapy and two colleagues apply the concepts of cognitive therapy, used successfully in treating depression, to the treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias. Part I shows how the activation of specific nonadaptive cognitive patterns leads to the complex symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, simple phobias, and the evaluation anxieties. Part II shows how distorted perceptions of threat and danger are corrected through cognitive restructuring, relaxation, and distraction techniques and through such behavioral methods as exposure therapy and activity scheduling.

This bestselling, classic work offers a definitive presentation of the theory and practice of cognitive therapy for depression. Aaron T. Beck and his associates set forth their seminal argument that depression arises from a "cognitive triad" of errors and from the idiosyncratic way that one infers, recollects, and generalizes. From the initial interview to termination, many helpful case examples demonstrate how cognitive-behavioral interventions can loosen the grip of "depressogenic" thoughts and assumptions. Guidance is provided for working with individuals and groups to address the full range of problems that patients face, including suicidal ideation and possible relapse.