Chronic psychiatric handicaps

Chapter 9 discusses chronic psychiatric problems, such as schizophrenia, and outlines the causes and maintaining factors, assessment, and treatments for these problems (including cognitive–behavioural treatment in groups, individual programs designed for specific patients, and treatment of in-patients).

Phobic disorders

Chapter 4 discusses phobic disorders. It outlines types of phobia, the frequency of phobias, and explores the theoretical background to treatment, stages of assessment (including phobia treatment suitability, goal determination, phobia measurement), phobia treatment in practice (useful methods of treatment, complicating factors, and alternative treatments), and the effectiveness of exposure-based treatments.

Marital problems

Chapter 10 explores a view of cognitive–behavioural marital therapy as it might be applied to the short-term treatment of marital problems in any out-patient service. It discusses the causes of marital distress, assessment of problems and assessment of suitability, treatment structure and techniques.

Sexual dysfunctions

Chapter 11 discusses sexual dysfunctions. It outlines their nature, causes (including potential contributing psychological factors), assessment as well as sex therapy, and the treatment of individuals and couples with sexual dysfunction.

Somatic problems

Chapter 7 explores somatic problems, their nature, methods of assessment (general assessment, self-monitoring, questionnaires, and psychological measurements), treatment (underlying principles, techniques), treatment techniques for specific disorders (headache, insomnia, irritable bowel), and difficulties that may occur in the process of treatment.

Depression

Chapter 6 explores depression. The chapter outlines the nature of depression, the development of psychological treatments, the cognitive model of depression, cognitive behaviour therapy for depression, the structure of treatment sessions, major cognitive behaviour therapy strategies and preventative strategies, and options for if cognitive behaviour therapy fails.

Anxiety states

This chapter discusses anxiety states, including panic and generalized anxiety. It defines the nature of anxiety (types of anxiety state, prevalence, mode of onset, method of presentation), cognitive models of anxiety states (levels of cognition, cognitive model of generalized anxiety, and the cognitive model of panic), the assessment of anxiety, suitability for treatment, and descriptions of treatment methods.

Eating disorders

Chapter 8 discusses eating disorders, and focuses on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It outlines their clinical features, stages of cognitive–behavioural treatment methods (including the elimination of dieting, cognitive restructuring, addressing cognitive distortions, problem-solving training, and addressing body image misperception), subgroups of patients with bulimia nervosa that may require special consideration, group therapy, in-patient treatment, and the use of drugs in treatment.

Cognitive–behavioural assessment

This chapter considers cognitive–behavioural assessment, its goals, modes of assessment, measurement in cognitive–behavioural assessment and treatment, and sources of information (behavioural interviewing, self-monitoring, self-report questionnaires, information from third parties, direct observation, and physiological measures).

The development and principles of cognitive–behavioural treatments

Chapter 1 discusses the development and principles of cognitive–behavioural treatments, including early clinical applications of behavioural principles, applications of operant techniques (applied behaviour analysis), consolidation and elaboration of the behavioural approach, the integration of cognitive and behavioural approaches, and general principles of cognitive–behavioural treatment.