Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment that has a strong scientific support of effectiveness for several psychiatric disorders, primarily anxiety disorders. However, at present there is no overall agreement on what counts as ‘CBT’. One reason is that CBT is commonly perceived as including a broad range of …
Read More »Recent Posts
A measure of perceived pain and tobacco smoking interrelations: pilot validation of the pain and smoking inventory
Mounting evidence indicates that pain can motivate cigarette smoking behavior, smokers have reliably endorsed the use of tobacco to cope with pain, and there is reason to suspect that pain may impede smoking cessation. Smoking-related outcome expectancies are among the best predictors of cigarette consumption and relapse, and the goal …
Read More »Are we certain about which measure of intolerance of uncertainty to use yet?
Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has been understood as a dispositional tendency to view the presence of negative events as unacceptable and threatening, regardless of the likelihood of those events occurring. The preference over the 12-item vs. 27-item of the IUS has been central to debate. The goals of the present …
Read More »Swedish Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (SAAQ): a psychometric evaluation
Psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance are equivalent (with somewhat different connotations) concepts and refer to an unwillingness to remain in contact with particular private events. This concept is most often measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) and is strongly related to psychopathology and behavioral effectiveness. In this study, …
Read More »Factor solutions of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in a Swedish population
Culturally validated rating scales for social anxiety disorder (SAD) are of significant importance when screening for the disorder, as well as for evaluating treatment efficacy. This study examined construct validity and additional psychometric properties of two commonly used scales, the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, in …
Read More »Intrusive thoughts in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder and non-clinical participants: a comparison using the International Intrusive Thought Interview Schedule
The International Intrusive Thought Interview Schedule (IITIS) was used to assess and compare the unwanted intrusive thoughts (UITs) reported in a group of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and a non-clinical group. Although all participants reported at least one type of intrusion, OCD patients experienced more intrusive thoughts than …
Read More »Effect of treatments for depression on quality of life: a meta-analysis
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the two first-line treatments for depression, but little is known about their effects on quality of life (QOL). A meta-analysis was conducted to examine changes in QOL in adults with major depressive disorder who received CBT (24 studies examining 1969 …
Read More »Acceptability of a brief computerized intervention targeting anxiety sensitivity
Despite the well-documented efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders, the acceptability of these treatments remains an under-researched area. A better understanding of acceptability could help to improve the initiation of, and engagement in, these effective interventions. Recent research has suggested computerized interventions of anxiety-related risk factors may be …
Read More »The influence of the menstrual cycle on reactivity to a CO2 challenge among women with and without premenstrual symptoms
Clinically significant premenstrual symptoms (PMS) is conceptualized as a depressive disorder in DSM-5, however, it may share pathophysiological processes with anxiety- and fear-related disorders. Specifically, women with PMS panic at higher rates during biological challenge procedures. It is unclear if this increased interoceptive sensitivity is a general vulnerability or specific …
Read More »Cognitive risk factors explain the relations between neuroticism and social anxiety for males and females
The hierarchical model of vulnerabilities to emotional distress contextualizes the relation between neuroticism and social anxiety as occurring indirectly through cognitive risk factors. In particular, inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty (IU; difficulty in uncertain circumstances), fear of negative evaluation (FNE; fear of being judged negatively), and anxiety sensitivity (AS) social concerns …
Read More »Examining the specific dimensions of distress tolerance that prospectively predict perceived stress
We examined five dimensions of distress tolerance (i.e. uncertainty, ambiguity, frustration, negative emotion, physical discomfort) as prospective predictors of perceived stress. Undergraduate students (N = 135) completed self-report questionnaires over the course of two assessment sessions (T1 and T2). Results of a linear regression in which the five dimensions of …
Read More »Rational emotive behaviour therapy in high schools to educate in mental health and empower youth health. A randomized controlled study of a brief intervention
Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) is effective in reducing distress in several target groups. No other study has tested the mental health effects on adolescents in a high school setting while expanding a Cognitive Behaviour-based therapy, REBT, into the concept of mental health literacy. The format of the ABC model, …
Read More »Overcoming procrastination: one-year follow-up and predictors of change in a randomized controlled trial of Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy
Procrastination is a common self-regulatory failure that can have a negative impact on well-being and performance. However, few clinical trials have been conducted, and no follow-up has ever been performed. The current study therefore aimed to provide evidence for the long-term benefits and investigate predictors of a positive treatment outcome …
Read More »Book Review: Inside this moment: a clinician’s guide to promoting radical change using acceptance and commitment therapy
Inside this moment: a clinician’s guide to promoting radical change using acceptance and commitment therapy, Strosahl, K. D., Robinson, P. J., & Gustavsson, T., Oakland, CA, Context Press, 2015, 232 pp., $49.95 (paperback). ISBN 9781626253247 Research suggests that the modal number of psychotherapy sessions is one (Brown & Jones, 2005). …
Read More »Associations between lower order anxiety sensitivity dimensions and DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a well-established individual difference variable reflecting a tendency to fear bodily sensations associated with arousal, has been implicated in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite these associations, little research has examined the relations between AS subfactors (eg physical, cognitive, and social) and PTSD …
Read More »