Bipolar disorder is often underdiagnosed, mistaken for unipolar depression and treated with antidepressants rather than mood stabilizing agents, reported S. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., senior investigator with the Center on Neuroscience, Medical Progress and Society, George Washington University. Ghaemi, who is…
Treatment
Drug Treatments
Confronted with the increasingly favorable treatment outcomes associated with cognitive behavioral packages, there are three possible reasons why pharmacological interventions might be considered. First, it could be that pharmacological interventions achieve the same outcomes as the cognitive behavioral therapy packages…
Panic disorder and agoraphobia
Treatment In 1988, Barlow examined the evidence from around the world and concluded that “with specifically targeted psychological treatments, panic is eliminated in close to 100% of all cases, and these results are maintained at follow-ups of over 1 year.…
Specific Phobias
Treatment A successful treatment for specific phobias should decrease the fear-driven avoidance behavior. Coupled with reducing the avoidance are two related problems. First, some phobics do not avoid feared situations, but endure them with distressingly high levels of anxiety. More…
Pharmacological Treatments of Social Phobia
Several classes of drug have been the subject of research. These are beta blockers, anxiolytics of the benzodiazepine class, and antidepressants. Beta blockers Beta blockers – such as propranolol or atenolol – may be of value in reducing peripheral symptoms…
Nondrug Treatments
Exposure In vivo exposure has been one of the strongest and most consistently demonstrated treatments for agoraphobic avoidance. In fact, it has often been demonstrated to be superior to placebo interventions as well as other credible psychological treatments – a…
Social Phobia
Treatment Aims of treatment The aims of treatment are symptom reduction and improved function. Elimination of all anxiety is unlikely (and unnecessary), and the therapist has a role in helping the patient to set realistic goals for therapy. Psychological and…
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Treatment Although Obsessive-compulsive disorder has been recognized for centuries, effective treatment for this condition has been available only for the past four decades. The treatments of choice for Obsessive-compulsive disorder are behavior therapy, consisting of exposure and response prevention, and…
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Treatment The goal of the treatment of Generalized anxiety disorder is the reduction of impairment that results from both cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety: the worry or anxious expectation, and the accompanying symptoms of tension and overarousal. This chapter…
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Treatment Survivors of trauma who do not recover independently, and who go on to develop longer-term problems as a result of their experiences, may require formal treatment. There is also a mounting body of research suggesting that early interventions with…