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APA Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to strict professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited.
In Cognitive Therapy for Panic Disorder, Dr. David M. Clark demonstrates a brief therapy for alleviating this debilitating anxiety disorder. Dr. Clark's approach is based on the idea that panic attacks are frequently the result of misinterpreting normal bodily sensations as a sign of an impending physical or mental catastrophe (such as a heart attack or going mad). The misinterpretation generates a feedback effect in which anxiety, physical symptoms, and negative thoughts reinforce each other. Several cognitive–behavioral techniques can help clients challenge their misinterpretations of bodily sensations. In this session, Dr. Clark works with a 38-year-old man who has experienced repeated panic attacks surrounding recurring sensations that he interprets as a heart attack. This video features a client portrayed by an actor on the basis of actual case material. Read about precipitating events, stimulus questions, and notes on preceding sessions with the client
Cognitive therapy for panic is a relatively brief (8–15 sessions) treatment derived from the cognitive theory of panic disorder. According to this theory, individuals who experience repeated panic attacks do so because they have a relatively enduring tendency to misinterpret benign bodily sensations as indications of an immediately impending physical or mental catastrophe. For example, palpitations may be interpreted as evidence of an impending heart attack. This cognitive abnormality is said to lead to a "positive" feedback loop in which misinterpretations of body sensations produce increasing anxiety. This in turn strengthens sensations, producing a vicious circle that culminates in a panic attack.
David M. Clark, DPhil, is currently professor of psychiatry and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, England. He studied experimental psychology at Oxford University, where he received his BA and DPhil. He completed his clinical training at the Institute of Psychiatry (London University), where he received an MPhil in clinical psychology.
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