ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that anxiety disorders represent the interpretation, the appraisal, or the physiological activity components within the Schematic Propositional Analogical and Associative Representational Systems (SPAARS) framework. It also argues that a multilevel theory of emotion such as DRT can offer greater explanatory power when applied to post-traumatic stress. The chapter considers how the SPAARS model of emotion accounts for the processing of trauma-related information at the time of the traumatic event. It reviews the constellation of difficulties experienced by people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and discusses the various extant theoretical models of the disorder. The chapter also considers normal fear and its disorders. It presents a Barlow's theory incorporating psychological processes which are clearly important in worry such as memory, attention and self-evaluation. The chapter concentrates on the work of Clark because this is the main cognitive account of panic disorder.