Health Anxiety
25 of 25 resources
Cognitive Distortions – Unhelpful Thinking Styles (Extended)
Cognitive distortions (or ‘unhelpful thinking styles’) are ways that our thoughts become biased. Different cognitive biases are associated with di ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-distortions-unhelpful-thinking-styles-extended/
Fight Or Flight Response
The fight or flight response is an automatic physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening. The perception of threa ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response/
Vulnerability To Harm
Schema therapy posits that psychological difficulties stem from early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and clients’ characteristic responses to them, refer ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/vulnerability-to-harm/
Cognitive Distortions – Unhelpful Thinking Styles (Common)
Cognitive distortions (or ‘unhelpful thinking styles’) are ways that our thoughts become biased. Different cognitive biases are associated with di ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-distortions-unhelpful-thinking-styles-common/
Therapy Blueprint (Universal)
A therapy blueprint is CBT tool which summarizes the work a therapist and patient have completed together. It represents the past (the problems, what ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/therapy-blueprint-universal/
Theory A / Theory B
People naturally seek to understand their world and develop explanations based on their experiences. When these beliefs are inaccurate or only partial ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/theorya-theoryb/
Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition): Client Workbook
The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition) comes in two volumes. This page is for the Client Workbook. ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unified-protocol-for-transdiagnostic-treatment-of-emotional-disorders-second-edition-client-workbook/
Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition) comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unified-protocol-for-transdiagnostic-treatment-of-emotional-disorders-second-edition-therapist-guide/
Understanding Health Anxiety
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-health-anxiety/
Exposure Session Record
The Exposure Session Record is a tool for recording clients’ use of exposure. The worksheet guides clients to identify a specific fear they are will ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-session-record/
Mistrust/Abuse
Schema therapy posits that psychological difficulties stem from early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and clients’ characteristic responses to them, refer ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mistrust-abuse/
Interoceptive Exposure
Misappraisals of body sensations trigger emotional and physiological reactions of fear and heightened arousal. These feelings motivate behavioral resp ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interoceptive-exposure/
Catastrophizing
The Catastrophizing information handout forms part of the cognitive distortions series. It is designed to help clients and therapists to work more eff ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/catastrophizing/
Thought-Action Fusion
The Thought-Action Fusion information handout forms part of the cognitive distortions series, designed to help clients and therapists to work more eff ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thought-action-fusion/
What Keeps Health Anxiety Going?
The “What Keeps It Going?” series is a set of one-page diagrams explaining how common mental health conditions are maintained. Friendly and concis ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-keeps-health-anxiety-going/
Exposure Practice Form
Exposure is an effective treatment for many forms of anxiety. The Exposure Practice Form is a CBT worksheet which guides therapists and clients throug ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-practice-form/
Pessimism
Schema therapy posits that psychological difficulties stem from early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and clients’ characteristic responses to them, refer ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/pessimism/
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety (Salkovskis, Warwick, Deale, 2003)
Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-health-anxiety-salkovskis-warwick-deale-2003/
Health Anxiety - Self-Monitoring Record
Developing self-monitoring skills teaches clients to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, body feelings, emo ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-self-monitoring-record/
Health Anxiety Thought Record
Individuals with health anxiety experience clinically significant distress associated with health concerns. This thought-challenging record enables cl ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-thought-record/
Attention Training Practice Record
When people struggle to control the focus of their attention, they find it much harder to interrupt cycles of worry, rumination, and other forms of se ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/attention-training-practice-record/
Exposures For Fear Of Body Sensations
Fearful responses to physical sensations are common in several disorders. Interoceptive exposure (or ‘symptom induction’) is an effective treatmen ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposures-for-fear-of-body-sensations/
Exposures For Fear Of Illness
Fear of illness is a common and persistent fear that can result in significant functional impairment. Exposure is an effective treatment for health-re ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposures-for-fear-of-illness/
Am I Experiencing Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety (also referred to as illness anxiety disorder and hypochondriasis) is a condition characterized by a preoccupation with, or fear about, ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-health-anxiety/
Health Anxiety Self-Monitoring Record (Archived)
NOTE: An improved version of this resource is available here: Health Anxiety Self-Monitoring Record. Older versions of a resource may be archived in t ...
https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-self-monitoring-record-edition-1/
Links to external resources
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Assessment
-
Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI-18)
| Salkovskis, Rimes, Warwick, Clark | 2002
- Scale
- Reference Salkovskis, P. M., Rimes, K. A., Warwick, H. M. C., & Clark, D. M. (2002). The Health Anxiety Inventory: development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychological Medicine, 32(05), 843-853.
Guides and workbooks
- Health Anxiety – A Self-Help Guide | Maunder, Cameron, Young, Leyland | 2015
Information Handouts
-
Health Anxiety (Information Handouts)
| Centre For Clinical Interventions
- What is health anxiety?
- What are safety behaviors?
- Dealing with health information
Self-Help Programmes
-
Helping Health Anxiety (Workbook)
| Centre For Clinical Interventions | 2011
- Module 1: Understanding Health Anxiety
- Module 2: How Health Anxiety Develops
- Module 3: What Keeps Health Anxiety Going?
- Module 4: Reducing Your Focus on Health Symptoms and Worries
- Module 5: Re-evaluating Unhelpful Health-Related Thinking
- Module 6: Reducing Checking and Reassurance Seeking
- Module 7: Challenging Avoidance and Safety Behaviours
- Module 8: Adjusting Health Rules and Assumptions
- Module 9: Healthy Living and Self-Management Planning
Worksheets
-
Anxiety (Worksheets)
| Centre For Clinical Interventions
- Anxiety Symptoms Record
- Breathing Rate Record
- Monitoring Relaxation
- Situational Exposure Diary
- Making The Connection
- Thought Diary 1
- Thought Diary 2
- Thought Diary 3
- Thought Diary (Tri-Fold)
- Behavioral Experiment Worksheet
Recommended Reading
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Health Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | Cooper, Gregory, Walker, Lambe, Salkovskis | 2017
- Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Severe and Persistent Health Anxiety (Hypochondriasis) | Salkovskis, Warwick, Deale | 2003
- Health anxiety: detection and treatment | Tyrer, Tyrer | 2018