Gordon J. G. Asmundson

Where do you go for help when no one believes you're really sick? The doctors can’t explain your symptoms, but you know there’s something wrong because you can sense it in your body. Living with the specter of an unresolved health issue isn't just painful, it's isolating. The preoccupation and stress it causes can disrupt your career or interfere with personal relationships. If you continually experience symptoms of illness, or worry a lot about disease, you may be suffering from health anxiety--a condition that can produce physical effects of its own, including muscle tension, nausea, and a quickened heart rate. In this compassionate and empowering book, noted psychologists Gordon J. G. Asmundson and Steven Taylor provide simple and accurate self-tests designed to help you understand health anxiety and the role it might be playing in how you feel. Concrete examples and helpful exercises show you how to change thought and behavior patterns that contribute to the aches, pains, and anxiety you're experiencing. The authors also explain how to involve friends and family--and when to seek professional help--as you learn to stay well without worry. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Using Evidence to Advance Research, Practice, Policy, and Prevention defines ACEs, provides a summary of the past 20 years of ACEs research, as well as provides guidance for the future directions for the field. It includes a review of the original ACEs Study, definitions of ACEs, and how ACEs are typically assessed. Other content includes a review of how ACEs are related to mental and physical health outcome, the neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking ACEs to psychopathology, sexual violence and sexual health outcomes, and violence across the lifespan. Important and contemporary issues in the field, like reconsidering how ACEs should be defined and assessed, the appropriateness of routine ACEs screening, thinking about ACEs from a public health and global perspective, strategies for preventing ACEs, understanding ACEs and trauma-informed care and resilience, and the importance of safe stable and nurturing environments for children are discussed. Adverse Childhood Experiences is a useful evidence-based resource for professionals working with children and families, including physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, judges, as well as public health leaders, policy makers, and government delegates.

Grounded in current theory and treatment research, this highly practical book presents a comprehensive framework for assessing and treating health anxiety, including full-blown and milder (subclinical) forms of hypochondriasis. The current state of knowledge about these prevalent and costly problems is reviewed, and assessment methods and empirically supported treatments described. Clear, step-by-step recommendations are provided for engaging patients or clients, implementing carefully planned cognitive and behavioral interventions, and troubleshooting potential pitfalls. Important advances in pharmacotherapy for persons with health anxiety disorders are also discussed. Enhancing the utility of this clinician- and student-friendly resource are numerous case examples and sample dialogues, quick-reference tables and figures, and over 20 reproducible handouts and assessment forms.