Treating Somatization A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

This lucidly written guide presents an innovative approach for treating somatization disorder and related problems, such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors' program integrates cognitive-behavioral techniques with strategies to build emotional self-awareness and interventions to help patients understand and alter their illness behavior. Systematic yet flexible, it is supported by controlled clinical research. The book reviews the conceptual underpinnings of the approach, discusses its ongoing testing and refinement, and offers clear-cut guidelines for assessment and treatment. Special features include illustrative case material, many pointers for practice, and reproducible appendices that provide a 10-session mini-manual and helpful handouts and forms.

Robert L. Woolfolk, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at Rutgers University and Visiting Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. He has published many papers and several books on psychotherapy and psychopathology, including Stress, Sanity, and Survival and The Cure of Souls: Science, Values, and Psychotherapy. A practicing clinician for more than 30 years, Dr. Woolfolk has sought in both his work with patients and his scholarly endeavors to integrate the scientific and humanistic traditions of psychotherapy.
 
Lesley A. Allen, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She has authored or coauthored numerous journal articles and book chapters on somatoform disorders. Dr. Allen is actively involved in clinical work, teaching, and supervising. She is currently Principal Investigator on an ongoing program of clinical research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.