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Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety
A licensed copy of Salkovskis and colleagues (2003) cognitive behavioral model of health anxiety, which describes a framework to address key components of this disorder.
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Overview
Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with health anxiety will engage in excessive health-related behaviors, such as checking their body for signs of illness, or will avoid situations or stimuli that are perceived as anxiety-provoking. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety illustrates how mis-appraisal of body symptoms as threatening results in emotional and physiological feelings of anxiety, safety-seeking behaviours, all of which serve to maintain the threat appraisals.
Why Use This Resource?
Understanding the key underpinnings of health anxiety is important for effective intervention.
- Understand the maintenance mechanisms underlying health anxiety.
- Explain key aspects of health anxiety, such as safety-seeking behaviors and anxiety.
- Develop appropriate case formulation for clients struggling with health anxiety.
Key Benefits
Insight
Deepens understanding of how health anxiety is maintained.
Education
Acts as an informative client handout.
Discussion
Promotes exploration of key factors in health anxiety.
Learning
Supports clinician knowledge and supervision.
Who is this for?
Health Anxiety
Designed to help clients affected by health anxiety.
Integrating it into your practice
01
Learn
Understand more about the cognitive behavioral model of health anxiety.
02
Organize
Use the model as a template to organize your case formulations.
03
Educate
Use your knowledge of the model to explain maintenance processes to clients.
04
Discuss
Engage clients in discussions about their beliefs and behaviors.
05
Tailor
Customize interventions based on individual maintenance mechanisms.
06
Reflect
Use in supervision to discuss case conceptualizations and treatment plans.
Theoretical Background & Therapist Guidance
Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with health anxiety will engage in excessive health-related behaviors, such as checking their body for signs of illness, or will avoid situations or stimuli that are perceived as anxiety-provoking.
The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety describes which factors play an important role in the development and maintenence of health anxiety. Cognitive factors include the overestimation of the probability of having or developing a serious illness, overestimation of the seriousness of an illness, and misinterpretations of body sensations / functions / appearance as indications of serious illness. Safety seeking behaviors are also important in health anxiety and include avoidance (of hospitals, sick people, blood, reminders of illness, thought suppression, distraction), checking (of one’s body & bodily functions, of one’s memory), information seeking (via repeated medical consultations and tests, searches for information), and reassurance seeking (from professionals, through searches for information).
This model of health anxiety conceptualizes threat interpretations as being central to the experience of anxiety. These interpreations lead to feelings of anxiety, physical reactions, and safety behaviors, which all act to reinforce the health appraisals. It suggests that targets for treatment include the client’s appraisals (of symptoms, health, illness, their vulnerability and ability to cope), and their coping behaviors.
What's inside
- A graphical depiction of the model.
- Insights into key maintenance mechanisms.
- Guidelines for using the resource with clients.
FAQs
Health anxiety is the excessive fear of having or developing a serious illness, often accompanied by persistent checking behaviors or avoidance.
The model explains how feelings of anxiety, physical reactions, and safety behaviors all act to reinforce the health-related appraisals that are central to health anxiety.
Clinicians use it to guide their case formulation, helping them to effectively target their interventions.
How This Resource Improves Clinical Outcomes
By applying the model, therapists and clients benefit from:
- A graphical depiction of the model.
- Insights into key maintenance mechanisms.
- Guidelines for using the resource with clients.
Clinicians Who Use This Resource Also Use
References And Further Reading
- Rachman, S. (2012). Health anxiety disorders: A cognitive construal. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50(7-8), 502-512.
- Salkovskis, P. M., & Warwick, H. (2001). Making sense of hypochondriasis: A cognitive theory of health anxiety. In G. Asmundson, S. Taylor, & B. Cox (Eds.), Health anxiety: Clinical and research perspectives on hypochondriasis and related conditions (pp. 46-64). Wiley.
- Salkovskis, P. M., Warwick, H. M. C., Deale, A. C. (2003). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Severe and Persistent Health Anxiety (Hypochondriasis). Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 3, 353-367.
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