Treating Health Anxiety and Fear of Death

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 fear of death, and getting more enjoyment from life, including:

-Step-by-step coverage of the assessment process and therapy sessions

-Client worksheets and self-monitoring forms

-Specific guidelines for treating health anxiety in children and the elderly

-Strategies for handling impasses and setbacks

-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.

Patricia Furer, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Furer has been interested in health anxiety since graduate school and her doctoral dissertation was an examination of hypochondriasis in individuals with various anxiety disorders. Her current research interests include psychological treatments for health anxiety, and the role of safety behaviors and fear of death in the development of health anxiety. Together with Dr. Walker, she has published several papers and book chapters on health anxiety. In her clinical work, Dr. Furer provides cognitive-behavioral treatment for adults with various anxiety and somatoform disorders. She also enjoys providing clinical supervision to graduate students and residents in clinical psychology.