Understanding Thoughts: Thinking the Worst and Overestimating the Risk

Chapter 8 explores how to understand thoughts and perform cognitive appraisals with the use of an ambiguous picture exercise. Automatic appraisals are discussed, along with how to identify core automatic appraisals. Thinking traps (probability overestimation, catastrophizing) and cognitive reappraisal are also explored.

Maintaining Motivation and Setting Goals for Treatment

Chapter 4 discusses how to maintain motivation and set goals for the treatment program. An exercise in decisional balance is outlined, as well as the process of setting manageable goals for treatment.

Medications for Anxiety, Depression, and Related Emotional Disorders

Chapter 13 explores medications for anxiety, depression, and related emotional disorders. Reasons for taking drugs for emotional disorders are given, along with types of medications such as antidepressant drugs and benzodiazepines and the process of stopping medication is also discussed.

Understanding Behaviors 1: Avoiding Your Emotions

Chapter 9 discusses how to understand behaviors of emotion avoidance. Emotion avoidance is introduced, followed by types of emotion avoidance strategies (subtle behavioral avoidance, cognitive avoidance strategies, the use of safety signals) and a demonstration exercise of emotion avoidance strategies.

Learning to Observe Your Emotions and Your Reactions to Your Emotions

Chapter 7 discusses learning to observe your emotions, your reactions to your emotions, and emotional awareness. Nonjudgmental emotional awareness is explored, along with distinguishing emotions from reactions to emotions, the importance of focusing on the present, practicing present-focused, nonjudgmental awareness, and excercises to practice anchoring in the present.

Understanding Your Emotions

Chapter 5 provides details on understanding your emotions, a rationale for placing a focus on emotions, the purposes of emotions such as fear, sadness/depression, anxiety, and anger. The different components of emotional experiences (cognitive, behavioral, and physiological) are also explored.

Moving On From Here—Recognizing Your Accomplishments and Looking to Your Future

Chapter 14 concludes the treatment program and reviews the key concepts and skills that have been learned. The progress that has been made is evaluated, and suggestions for developing a practice plan, being your own therapist, forming long-term goals, maintaining progress and managing setbacks are made.

Putting It into Practice: Facing Your Emotions in the Situations in which They Occur

Chapter 12 discusses methods of putting what has been learned throughout the therapy sessions into practice and facing your emotions in the situations in which they occur. Emotion exposures are introduced (situationally-based, imaginal, and physical sensation exposures) along with methods for practicing emotion exposures, and key pointers to remember about exposure practice.

Recognizing and Tracking Your Emotional Responses

Chapter 6 encourages the client to recognise and track their emotional responses, using the ARC model to monitor emotional experiences. Learned behaviors are also explored.

Learning to Record Your Experiences

Chapter 3 outlines how you can learn to record your experiences, introducing the rationale behind taking the time to record, what should be recorded, and how to use the overall anxiety severity and impairment scale (OASIS) and overall depression severity and impairment scale (ODSIS).