The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook: A Breakthrough Treatment for Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Panic

by Matthew McKay PhD, Michelle Skeen PsyD, Patrick Fanning

Overview

You are stronger than your anxiety! In this important workbook, best-selling authors Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning, and Michelle Skeen offer a breakthrough anxiety solution based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you understand and overcome your fears and worries, rather than try to avoid them.

If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, you may try to avoid situations that cause you to feel worry, fear, or panic. You may even believe that terrible things will happen to you if you face the things that make you anxious. But avoidance isn’t a long-term solution, and in the end it may result in more anxiety. This book shows you how the simple belief that you can endure your worries and fears—both mentally and physically—can be an extremely powerful treatment.

Using a breakthrough approach combining proven-effective CBT and exposure therapy, this workbook helps you understand how worry and rumination drive anxiety, and offers practical exercises to help you adopt new habits of observing your thoughts, rather than accepting them as the “ultimate truth.” You’ll also develop mindfulness and self-soothing coping skills to help you manage anxiety in the moment, rather than avoid it. Over time these practices will show you that you are more powerful than your anxiety.

If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of anxiety and avoidance, this workbook will help you make the changes you need to get your life back.

This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626254749
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	07/01/2017
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	623,199
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, including The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, Self-Esteem, and Couple Skills, which have sold more than a million copies combined. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression.

Michelle Skeen, PsyD, has a doctorate in clinical psychology. She is author of Love Me, Don’t Leave Me and six other books. Her passion is coaching individuals in creating and maintaining healthy relationships by bringing awareness to core beliefs and the related patterns of behavior, which often work unconsciously to limit connections with others. Michelle believes that an early introduction and education in core values and healthy communication are essential life skills for success. To that end, Michelle and her daughter, Kelly, coauthored Just As You Are and Communication Skills for Teens.
 
Skeen completed her postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco. She codeveloped an empirically validated protocol for the treatment of interpersonal problems that resulted in two books: Acceptance and CommitmentTherapy for Interpersonal Problems and The Interpersonal Problems Workbook. Michelle’s books have been translated into thirteen languages, and her work has appeared in more than thirty publications around the world. To find out more, visit her website at www.michelleskeen.com.

Patrick Fanning is a professional writer in the mental health field, and founder of a men’s support group in Northern California. He has authored and coauthored twelve self-help books, including Self-Esteem, Thoughts and Feelings, Couple Skills, and Mind and Emotions.

Table of Contents

1 The Anxiety Problem 1

2 The Alarm Response 5

3 Assessment 21

4 Motivation 31

5 Preparation 39

6 The Anxiety Solution 79

7 You Can Face Fear 101

8 Reducing Worry with Defusion 115

9 Correcting Your Anxiety Lens 127

10 Distress Tolerance Skills 145

11 Relapse Prevention 167

Appendix I Comprehensive Coping Inventory (CCI) 181

Appendix II Worksheets 185

Appendix III Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) 207

Appendix IV Interoceptive Exposure 211

Appendix V Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) 219

References 221

Interviews

McKay resides in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, CA; Skeen resides in San Francisco, CA; Fanning resides in Graton, CA.

Editorial Reviews

Anxiety, panic, and worries can have crippling and debilitating effects on a person’s life. Fortunately, there are effective ways to deal with them. In this beautifully written workbook, McKay, Skeen, and Fanning offer concrete and effective instructions to overcome these problems. I highly recommend this book.”
—Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD, professor of psychology at Boston University


“Combining the best approaches from all three generations of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) research and practice, this book is a reliable, evidence-based guide to expand your life when it is restricted by fear. Systematic, clear, and step-by-step, think of it as a roadmap for human liberation—your own, or one you love. Highly recommended.”
—Steven C. Hayes, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno,and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life



“This workbook beautifully integrates strategies from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) into practical solutions for a broad spectrum of anxiety problems. McKay, Skeen, and Fanning take readers through a step-by-step process explaining mechanisms underlying anxiety, helping individuals assess problematic coping patterns, and introducing values work to motivate them for the challenge of tackling anxiety in a meaningful and lasting way. Numerous real-life examples validate personal experiences and illustrate how to implement interventions to reduce suffering, which will resonate with clients and clinicians alike.”
—Rochelle I. Frank, PhD, assistant clinical professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of The Transdiagnostic Road Map to Case Formulation and Treatment Planning


“This workbook demystifies anxiety and teaches the nuts and bolts about using strategies from the most up-to-date anxiety protocols and treatments to face your specific fears and cope with fearful thoughts. It’s informative, thorough, and easy to follow, with numerous examples to use as guidelines. Whether you suffer from anxiety or you help those who do, this resource offers the practical guidance you need.”
—Joan Davidson, PhD, codirector and founding partner of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, and assistant professor in the clinical sciences program at the University of California, Berkeley



“This book is based on a number of proven approaches for treating and managing anxiety, including exposure to feared stimuli, mindfulness and acceptance, and cognitive reappraisal. Filled with helpful worksheets and illustrations, the book’s clear, practical, and accessible format is an excellent option for anyone struggling with anxiety.”
—Martin M. Antony, PhD, professor of psychology at Ryerson University, and coauthor of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook and The Anti-Anxiety Workbook

From the Publisher