Book Review
Anxiety Disorders
The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Clinical Guides and Patient Manuals. 2nd ed Gavin Andrews, Mark Creamer, Rocco Crino, Caroline Hunt, Lisa Lampe, Andrew Page. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2003. 611 p. US$60.00.
Reviewer
rating*: Excellent
Review by: Review by Richard Swinson, MD
Hamilton, Ontario
This is the second edition of a useful book that first appeared in 1994. Dr Gavin Andrews is a professor of psychiatry in the school of psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and is the director of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUFAD) at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. The team of collaborators at CRUFAD have long been recognized for their excellence in research and treatment development and for their attention to disseminating information regarding evidence-based treatments. This volume is the product of many years of scholarly work coupled with a high level of clinical sensitivity.
The text presents current information about all the major anxiety disorders. Following the format of the first edition, 2 introductory chapters address general issues in anxiety disorders and related treatment. The chapters precede a 4-part discussion of each of the following primary disorders: panic disorder and agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobias, obsessive–compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post- traumatic stress disorder.
Each disorder comprises 4 relatively short chapters. The first chapter presents an accurate description of the syndrome, followed by a brief and knowledgeable review of treatment in Chapter 2. The third chapter includes a clinician’s guide to the management of the disorder, and Chapter 4 supplies a patient treatment manual. The clinician’s guide and the patient treatment manual are designed to assist the clinician in performing an accurate assessment, in developing a treatment plan, and in being able to negotiate treatment from the simple to the complex. The patient treatment manuals are arranged in order to provide psycho- education before following up with details about anxiety management techniques, exposure-based treatments, and cognitive interventions. These chapters are written at an appropriate reading level for most patients, and they provide the necessary homework structure, including diaries to record assignments. Therapists are welcome to copy the manuals to assist in patient recovery.
Significant changes in this edition include new sections on posttraumatic stress disorder and structural changes to the patient manuals. The purpose of the book is to provide updated information to practising clinicians about the nature of anxiety disorders and their treatments, to provide clinicians with well-founded practice guidelines, and to provide patients with information and treatment aids. In these purposes, the authors succeed admirably. They review the extensive information available about anxiety disorders in a succinct and readable manner—a challenging task when one-fifth of the text is devoted to understanding the nature of the disorders. Those who read this publication will gain a thorough appreciation of developments in the understanding of anxiety disorders and their treatments.
Stylistically, the attractive book (printed on good quality glossy paper with a purple and orange cover) maintains clear writing with few errors. Published at US$10.00 per disorder, the text is worth the price. For clinicians who see anxiety disorder patients in their practices, this book will come readily to hand.
Over the years, I have recommended the first edition of this text to many colleagues, particularly to that large number of psychiatrists who wish to upgrade their skills in the management of anxiety disorders and to those want a useful reference book nearby. As this edition exceeds the first, I will continue to recommend the text to many more colleagues in the future.
*Reviewer
Rating Scale/ Échelle d’évaluation du réviseur
Excellent / Excellent
Very Good / Très bon
Good / Bon
Fair / Passable
Not recommended / Pas recommandé
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