Meaning, misinterpretations, and medicine: A cognitive-behavioral approach to understanding health anxiety and hypochondriasis

Reference:

Salkovskis, P. M. and Warwick, H. M. C., 2001. Meaning, misinterpretations, and medicine: A cognitive-behavioral approach to understanding health anxiety and hypochondriasis. In: Starcevic, V. and Lipsitt, D. R., eds. Hypochondriasis: Modern Perspectives on an Ancient Malady. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 202-222.

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Abstract

The cognitive-behavioral theory of hypochondriasis is firmly rooted in current cognitive approaches to emotional disorders in general. Moreover, it assumes that hypochondriasis represents the extreme (and handicapping) end of a continuum of normal health anxiety. This emphasis inevitably has a powerful normalizing influence reflected not only in the treatment but also in the fact that the approach can readily be applied to understanding health anxiety in the context of somatic problems and the psychological reaction to health screening. A growing body of empirical evidence supports this view. The authors argue here that the combination of further theoretical development and refinement will inevitably lead to more effective and efficient treatment.

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