Hypochondria, Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder

Research carried out in recent years has demonstrated how hypochondria, or health anxiety, is a very common disorder, which can be incapacitating for the individual and costly for the health service. The new edition of this manual, updated in light of recent scientific evidence and the latest diagnostic manuals (DSM-5®), and integrated with a chapter dedicated to the interpretive metacognitive model, provides suggestions on how to recognise and handle the disorder as well as on the most effective pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments, useful information for doctors of any kind, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychotherapy students.
The book comprises a clinician’s guide and a patient’s manual. The first part describes the characteristics of the disorder and suggests how to structure a programme of cognitive behavioural treatment and how to present it to the patient, identifying and dealing with the main difficulties. The second part, which can be used as a self-help tool or as a workbook, provides key theoretical concepts, as well as suggestions and material for practical exercises.
The contents of this book, which includes a contribution from Paul Salkovskis and Hilary Warwick, two of the most internationally renowned clinicians and researchers, are based on the wide range of scientific literature available and have been trialled in various settings in regular clinical practice.