If Your Adolescent Has an Anxiety Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents

by Edna B. Foa, Linda Wasmer Andrews

Overview

Growing up can be stressful for any teenager, but it is considerably harder for the many adolescents who develop an anxiety disorder. This book is an essential guide for parents, teachers, or other adults involved with teenagers who may e affected by these disorders. By bringing together two strands of expertise—that of mental health professionals and of parents who have lived through the experience of their own teenager's mental illness—If Your Adolescent Has an Anxiety Disorder provides adult readers with the clinical information and practical advice they need to understand and help the teen. There are chapters detailing four the different types of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Each includes a clearly written definition, a discussion of factors that can contribute to developing the disorder, treatment information, and case studies based on a real family's own experience with the disease. Tips and quotes from parents are sprinkled liberally throughout the text, and helpful sidebars provide more detailed information. The authors also provide a chapter fully dedicated to discussing treatment options, including what role parents play in treatment, how to juggle treatment and school, and how to handle insurance and managed care issues. Knowing the right information about anxiety disorders is the first step towards helping adolescents who are dealing with them grow to become healthy, happy adults.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195181517
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2006
Series:	Adolescent Mental Health Initiative
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.42(w) x 8.26(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Edna B. Foa, Ph.D., is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. Linda Wasmer Andrews is a freelance science writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the co-author of If Your Adolescent Has Depression or Bipolar Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is a must for any parent who has an adolescent plagued by worries and anxiety. It is unique in combining current knowledge with practical information about what adolescents experience, what can be done, and how parents can help. Although written for parents, professionals will also benefit from the book's broad discussion of diagnosis, treatment, and causes of various anxiety states. Clearly, this book reflects the vast clinical experience of a seasoned and compassionate clinician." —Rachel Klein, Ph.D., New York University Child Study Center

"In this marvelous book, Edna Foa takes pioneering work on anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders in adults and, in the context of the child and adolescent literature, applies it to children and adolescents and their families. Full of clinical wisdom and built on the best available evidence, the book will be an exceptionally valuable resource for families and for clinicians working with anxious youth. We can only hope that the state of clinical practice comes to reflect the standards of care outlined in this book. Highly recommended for professionals and nonprofessionals alike."— John S. March, M.D., M.P.H., Professor and Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Program for Child Affective & Anxiety Disorders, Duke University Child and Family Study Center

"Foa and Andrews provide parents a rich understanding of a variety of worries, fears, and anxieties, and they provide guidelines on how to help their teens overcome them. Parents will find the book engaging, easy to read, and full of important ideas about how best to understand and help their teens. A must read for the teen's sake and ours."—Thomas H. Ollendick, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and Director, Child Study Center, Virginia Tech

"Problems with anxiety can change the life course for many teenage children. Yet good and unbiased information is almost nonexistent. This book is written by two authors who are armed with a wealth of scientific information, extensive experience, and empathic understanding. Dr. Foa and Ms. Andrews provide a vital resource for parents of anxious teenagers. The language is clear and straightforward and the information is accurate and up-to-date. It is a book that every parent with an anxious teenager must have."—Ronald M. Rapee, Ph.D., Director, Macquarie University Anxiety Research Unit, and Author of Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step by Step Guide for Parents

"An essential read, this book is a clear, concise, comprehensive resource for parents of children experiencing problems with anxiety."—Louis Harkins, Founder and Administrator of the OCD and Parenting List

"Easy-to-readan invaluable resource for parents and professionals alike. This volume can greatly assist parents as well as professionals to more effectively identify and help adolescents who are suffering. I would highly recommend it to parents as well as professional colleagues." —Esther Deblinger, Ph.D., New Jersey CARES Institute, University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ, School of Osteopathic Medicine

"Each disorder is accompanied by a definition, contributing factors, treatment information, and case studies. Quotes, helpful tips from parents, and sidebars appear throughout the text. This in-depth, logically arranged book also contains an expanded table of contents, a useful appendix, a glossary, and a list of resources. An essential addition to public, middle, and high school libraries."—Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

Noted clinical psychologist Foa (Univ. of Pennsylvania; director, Ctr. for the Study and Treatment of Anxiety) and freelance science writer Andrews have coauthored one in a series of texts sponsored by the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative that focuses on mental health issues in adolescents (other volumes address eating disorders, depression, and schizophrenia). This text covers seven different conditions-social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and specific phobias-emphasizing the first four. Chapters 1-6 provide a general overview of anxiety disorders, Chapter 7 deals with treatment and recovery, and Chapter 8 pertains to adolescent empowerment. Each disorder is accompanied by a definition, contributing factors, treatment information, and case studies. Quotes, helpful tips from parents, and sidebars appear throughout the text. This in-depth, logically arranged book also contains an expanded table of contents, a useful appendix, a glossary, and a list of resources. An essential addition to public, middle, and high school libraries. (Index not seen.)-Melody Ballard, Washoe Cty. Lib. Syst., Reno, NV Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal