Transforming Generalized Anxiety

Book excerpt: Transforming Generalized Anxiety: An Emotion Focused Approach examines an approach to treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) which attempts to uncover the deeper, underlying emotional experiences that clients are afraid of. It also demonstrates how these painful experiences can be transformed in therapy into a form of emotional resilience by generating experiences of self-compassion and healthy, boundary setting, protective anger. Though most of the literature on treating GAD is dominated by Cognitive Behavior Therapy, this book presents emotion-focused therapy as an alternative treatment of this condition. The emotional resilience this particular approach instils serves as a resource when encountering triggers of emotional vulnerability, but also decreases the client’s need to avoid hitherto feared triggers and the emotional experiences they bring. Developed in a series of research studies, and illustrated with reference to case examples, this book offers a practical, theoretically informed, evidence based guide, to conducting therapy with clients. Using clinical material, and applying the outcome of a series of research studies, Transforming Generalized Anxiety will equip psychotherapists and counsellors with the means to help GAD clients transform core painful experiences into a sense of empowerment and inner confidence.