Health Psychology
TREATMENT OF CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Strategies and Integrative Treatment Protocols
Len Sperry
American Psychological Association, 2008
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES The reader will be able to:
• Assess and develop cognitive-behavioral interventions for treatments of chronic medical conditions
• Describe what chronic medical condition encompasses
• Evaluate problems and progress in arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiac disease, chronic pain, diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, and lupus
• Review case studies and session transcriptions that make the treatment process tangible and results oriented
• Review issues of illness denial, non-compliance, and symptom reduction
Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D., is professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in counseling at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, and is clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, he is also a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Assocation and a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
As the population ages, physicians are turning to psychotherapists to help the increasing number of patients who are struggling with chronic illnesses. To provide effective and appropriate treatment to these patients requires that clinicians broaden their psychological perspective and augment their intervention strategies and treatment plans specific to chronic medical illness. "Treatment of Chronic Medical Conditions" provides clinicians with focused cognitive–behavioral strategies and integrative treatment protocols for 10 of the most common chronic medical conditions that the psychotherapist is likely to encounter. These include: arthritis; asthma; cancer; cardiac disease; chronic pain; diabetes; epilepsy; hypertension; irritable bowel syndrome; lupus. The strategies and protocols tailored for these conditions are illustrated with extensive case studies and session transcriptions that make the treatment process tangible and results oriented. In addition, the book offers guidelines for dealing with such issues as illness denial, non-compliance, symptom reduction, and challenges to life meaning that often stand in the way of patients leading full lives, despite their chronic illnesses.