In Anxiety and Avoidance, psychologist and anxiety disorder expert Michael Tompkins presents a universal protocol to help you cope with anxiety, panic, and fear, regardless of your particular mental health diagnosis.
Michael A. Tompkins, PhD, ABPP, is codirector of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy; assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley; and a diplomate and founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Tompkins specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders in adults, adolescents, and children. He is the author or coauthor of numerous articles on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and related topics, as well as seven books, including three books published by New Harbinger Publications, Digging Out, OCD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed, and Anxiety and Avoidance. Tompkins serves on the Advisory Board of Magination Press, the children's press of the American Psychological Association. He is a certified supervisor and trainer for the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Tompkins has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on NPR, and has presented over 250 workshops, lectures, and keynote addresses on CBT and related topics.
Anxiety and Avoidance is an excellent guide for anyone
who is anxious. Filled with self-help forms and useful tools,
readers can readily find relief by following this guide. Highly
recommended.
--Robert L. Leahy, PhD, director of the American
Institute for Cognitive Therapy, New York, and distinguished
founding fellow and diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive
Therapy
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone who experiences
anxiety, panic, and fear to the extent that it has a detrimental
impact on their lives. Experienced psychologist Tompkins has
synthesized various approaches in an easy-to-read book, designed to
help those with anxiety learn important strategies to overcome
avoidance and feel more comfortable in anxious situations. In a
compassionate style, he shows how to deal with the heart of the
problem and how to maintain positive changes in the long term.
--Nikolaos Kazantzis, PhD, founder and director of
the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Research Unit at La Trobe
University, Australia
In Anxiety and Avoidance, Tompkins describes tools and
concepts for overcoming anxiety that are based on the latest
scientific developments in the field, and on his many years of
clinical experience working with adults, teens, and children
suffering from anxiety's debilitating effects. Tompkins' deep
understanding of anxiety and its effective treatment shines through
on every page.
--Jacqueline B. Persons, PhD, director of the San
Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy and clinical
professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of
California, Berkeley
In this user-friendly book, Tompkins helps the reader use
scientifically proven strategies to overcome problems with anxiety.
Readers will learn about how anxiety problems function, how to
select appropriate treatment targets, and how to implement
cognitive-behavioral strategies--the most effective interventions
for getting out of the anxiety cycle. Complete with lots of
worksheets and illustrative examples from beginning to end, this
book is a must for sufferers and therapists alike.
--Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD, professor and
associate chair of psychology, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Many of us have a tendency to avoid people and situations we
find unpleasant and/or emotions and bodily sensations we find
distressing. These habits of avoidance can inadvertently create
many problems for us, contributing to negative vicious cycles,
including escalations in anxiety and fluctuations in our mood. This
incredible and most practical book helps us all to develop
healthier habits and overcome avoidance, improve our motivation and
more clearly identify our goals and values. By using the skills
Tompkins provides, we can step out of the small box that many of us
live in and enjoy living the biggest and fullest versions of our
lives.
--Allison G. Harvey, PhD, professor of psychology
and director of The Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic,
University of California
Michael Tompkins has gathered the best of what works into a
straightforward, no-nonsense guide that will help readers to
understand why they are anxious and to develop a step-by-step plan
to beat anxiety. People with a range of anxiety-related
problems--from panic attacks to obsessive-compulsive disorder to
phobias--will get tremendous benefit from this insightful,
compassionate, and practical book.
--David F. Tolin, PhD, ABPP, author of Face
Your Fears
Research consistently shows that cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT) is highly effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
With the sensibility of an experienced clinician and the clarity of
an excellent writer, Tompkins has distilled the wisdom of multiple
CBT perspectives. Anxiety and Avoidance provides
therapists and patients with a single resource that integrates
empirically validated CBT treatments. Anxiety and
Avoidance synthesizes practical and proven strategies and
provides step-by-step instructions to lead a life less impacted by
fear, apprehension, and worry.
--Dennis Greenberger, PhD, coauthor of Mind
Over Mood
This book provides a refreshingly modern perspective on anxiety,
panic, and fears. Packed with valuable exercises and drawing on
strategies from three evidence-based therapies, the book provides
readers with a variety of tools to address their difficulties in a
more effective way.
--James Bennett-Levy, associate professor at the
University of Sydney; coeditor of the Oxford Guide to
Behavioral Experiments in Cognitive Therapy and Oxford
Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions; and coauthor of the
Oxford Guide to Imagery in Cognitive Therapy
Tompkins does it again! This is a wonderful book that explains
the antecedents of anxiety in clear, straightforward terms, and
then walks the reader, step-by-step, through a series of exercises
aimed at treating it. The exercises and worksheets are appropriate
for all types of anxiety symptoms, and can be personalized to fit
almost any situation. I will recommend it to all of my clients who
struggle with anxiety.
--Carol A. Mathews, MD, director at the Obsessive
Compulsive Disorders Clinic and co-director of the Anxiety Disorder
Clinic in the department of psychiatry, University of California,
San Francisco
Tompkins has made a significant contribution to the anxiety
self-help literature. His work integrates elements from several
established cognitive and behavioral therapies and appropriately
reflects the field's growing emphasis on producing a single,
unified approach to all anxiety disorders. Most importantly,
Tompkins has translated complex terms and concepts into a language
that can be readily grasped by consumers. Individuals with a
variety of disabling fears should benefit greatly from this
user-friendly resource.
--C. Alec Pollard, PhD, director at the Center for
OCD and Anxiety-Related Disorders, Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine
Institute, and professor of family and community medicine, Saint
Louis University
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