Intrusive Thoughts in Clinical Disorders

David A. Clark, PhD, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick, Canada, has been a practicing clinical psychologist since 1985. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, Founding Fellow and Trainer Consultant of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, and ad hoc consultant with the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Dr. Clark is a recipient of the Aaron T. Beck Award for Significant and Enduring Contributions to Cognitive Therapy. He was a founding member of the Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group and is a past associate editor of Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dr. Clark has published numerous research and clinical articles and offers professional training workshops worldwide on cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD, depression, and anxiety disorders. He is the author of numerous books for professionals and the general public.

• 1. Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts in Nonclinical Individuals: Implications for Clinical Disorders, David A. Clark and Shelley Rhyno2. Intrusive Thoughts in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Sherry A. Falsetti, Jeannine Monnier, and Heidi S. Resnick3. Seeking Solace but Finding Despair: The Persistence of Intrusive Thoughts in Depression, Richard M. Wenzlaff4. Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts in Insomnia, Allison G. Harvey5. Worry, Intrusive Thoughts, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The Metacognitive Theory and Treatment, Adrian Wells6. Thinking Is Believing: Ego-Dystonic Intrusive Thoughts in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, David A. Clark and Kieron O'Connor7. Psychosis and the Phenomenon of Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts, Anthony P. Morrison8. Unwanted Thoughts and Fantasies Experienced by Sexual Offenders: Their Nature, Persistence, and Treatment, W. L. Marshall and Calvin Langton9. Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: Present Status and Future Directions, Christine Purdon

Too many young clinicians are planning treatment without formulating causation of an individual patient's symptoms. This book counteracts that tendency (to make a DSM-IV diagnosis and jump to a manualized approach). It takes one very important symptom--intrusive thoughts--and examines it in several disorders and from many perspectives. The book will be very helpful in teaching therapists how to think about what causes each of the several presented complaints.--Mardi J. Horowitz, MD, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San FranciscoThis book highlights the ubiquity of unwanted mental activity, a facet of cognition that is orthogonal to the pervasive categorization of thoughts as positive or negative. It is a 'must read' for researchers, clinicians, and students eager to understand why mental control and suppression are bound to fail in dealing with these intrusions, and how--while it may seem counterintuitive--approaches that encourage patients to develop a curious, detached awareness of these thoughts have proven helpful across a host of clinical problems.--Zindel V. Segal, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, CanadaThis volume provides a highly valuable survey of the research on intrusive thoughts in several clinical states, including depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, and sexual disorders. It will be useful to clinicians, to instructors in graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in clinical psychology, and to researchers in social, personality, and cognitive psychology.--Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, Department of Psychology, Yale University - A comprehensive summary of cognitive theory on intrusive thoughts, with information that will be useful to researcher and clinician alike. It is compelling in its ability to stimulate the reader to think about how the thoughts that underlie disorders are shaped and controlled. Researchers will appreciate the descriptions of research tools and methods. Clinicians will benefit from the ample attention paid to the clinical applications of current theory. --Psychiatric Services, 10/10/2004ƒƒ Cognitive therapy begins with a conceptualization of the individual and this book offers a valuable insight into the role of intrusive thoughts in a range of disorders. These are important concepts to include in our case conceptualizations. --Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews, 10/10/2004