ABSTRACT

Cross-situational anxiety differs from the situation-specific anxiety described in the previous chapter, in that it involves multiple anxieties and worries that affect performance across a wide range of work and non-work-related situations and tasks. Examples of cross-situational anxiety include disorders such as uncued panic attacks, agoraphobia, generalized social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 2000). The treatment of panic attacks and phobias was discussed in the previous chapter. This chapter thus focuses on the formulation and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD warrants specific attention since it requires quite a different CBT treatment approach from the other forms of anxiety already mentioned. Two other anxiety syndromes which have been found to be particularly prevalent among health workers, namely post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and health anxiety, are also discussed in this chapter.