Improving Outcomes and Preventing Relapse in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

"Cognitive-behavioral therapy has demonstrated success in a large number of treatment areas, but important challenges remain. These include the maximization of acute care to people suffering from mental disorders and, more importantly, a shift in focus to the prevention of relapse and recurrence. In this innovative work, some of the world's foremost authorities demonstrate what is known about the predictors of outcome and how the field can use this knowledge to maximize treatment. As such, this volume helps to fill a recognized void in the treatment of mental disorders. Congratulations to the editors and authors for challenging the field to think outside of its usual parameters! This book should be required reading for mental health professionals."--Keith S. Dobson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada

"I wish this kind of sophisticated graduate-level text had been available 30 years ago, when I was in training. Although CBT is clearly a first-line, evidence-based treatment for many mental disorders, such treatment does not always yield complete and lasting remission of symptoms. This book provides a complete, state-of-the-art review of what can be done to enhance the maintenance and generalization of behavior change for clients with refractory or relapsing problems. This is an excellent choice as an advanced graduate-level text for the mental health professions. The cast of contributing authors is first-rate!"--Bruce A. Thyer, PhD, College of Social Work, Florida State University

"This powerful new book answers an important need in the implementation of CBT: how to go beyond basic methods to enhance treatment response and reduce the risk for relapse. Full of clinical insights and innovative ideas, this important contribution will help clinicians build advanced skills in reaching difficult-to-treat patients. The authors provide a cogent and practical guide to solving many of the most vexing problems encountered in clinical practice."--Jesse H. Wright, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville School of Medicine

"This volume is an excellent resource both for therapists working to master CBT and for seasoned practitioners who want to increase their effectiveness. Each chapter takes a major Axis I problem and summarizes empirically supported treatment approaches. The authors then provide clear, practical suggestions for overcoming problems encountered when treating that disorder, getting better results, and reducing the risk of relapse. Antony, Ledley, and Heimberg have produced a book that belongs on my short list of the most valuable texts in CBT. It will be excellent for graduate students if paired with another text that introduces the basic principles of CBT."--James Pretzer, PhD, Cleveland Center for Cognitive Therapy

"Examines what we know about factors that predict outcome and relapse with a view to providing practitioners with answers to the questions like 'Why do some of my clients respond and others do not?'....The editing is generally excellent as the book as a whole and each chapter is coherent, making it an easy book to read or use in a piecemeal way. This is achieved without the need for introductory and concluding chapters, which attests to the quality of both the editing and the writing of the constituent chapters."

"A much needed and useful resource for therapists working from all theoretical frameworks and orientations. Although this text delivers robust clinical support for seasoned mental health professionals, it is also appropriate for inclusion within the education and training of student practitioners....A practical text that integrates several extensive bodies of scholarly literature....The writing is inspired and successfully imparts the essentials from the empirical research, but without ever reading as a technical publication....Each chapter can stand alone, making consultation of a particular chapter or portion thereof quite feasible....One unique feature of this text are the case examples provided at the end of 10 chapters...illustrating how empirically supported treatment can be integrated into practice without jeopardizing one's responsiveness, individuality, or spontaneity, as has often been criticized of EST and manualized treatment....All mental health practitioners and educators alike can benefit from an increased awareness of the research-supported treatment available in [this book]."

"This is a very good book....There is no question that the standard CBT protocols plus the additional techniques described in this book provide a powerful armamentarium to help therapists alleviate the suffering of our patients."

"The book outlines and offers practical strategies for many of the most common sources of difficulty in the application of CBT. Given the practical significance of this topic, this book is likely to be of significant interest to clinicians who are routinely faced with these challenges in clinical practice, where guidance beyond the standard CBT practice manuals is very much welcome. The practical nature of the book, including extended case examples, is highly conducive to its intended use as an adjunct to practicing clinicians. Moreover, given its emphasis on the clinical need for solutions to common problems in applying CBT, it is hoped that this book will also challenge researchers to further empirically investigate the underpinnings of impoverished response to CBT."

"A unique feature of this book is that the chapter authors' extensive practice wisdom is effectively combined with up-to-date research evidence about factors influencing CBT outcomes with each of the disorders addressed....This book represents a skillful joining of research and practice....Appropriate audiences for this book include direct providers of clinical mental health services and graduate students who are in clinical training programs that emphasize CBT and evidence-based practice. This book affords practicing clinicians a set of techniques that synthesize a large body of research evidence in their derivation. Students and others in CBT training will enjoy a substantial advantage afforded by this straightforward application of evidence-based practice. This book also should be read by researchers who are interested in an exemplar for joining CBT research and practice."

"This is a highly recommended volume. It sheds light on issues that most clinicians encounter in daily practice. It identifies common obstacles in treatment, suggests possible ways to deal with the obstacles at hand, and convincingly points to the need for clinicians to work with strategies that might prevent relapse and recurrence. As such it is a good volume for clinicians who wish to improve their clinical skills, but also for those who work with challenging patients."