Anxiety and Related Disorders
Full course description
In this module the clinical aspects of the various anxiety disorders are presented as well as knowledge of theories and models about the maintenance factors and its treatment implications. In the tasks, case histories of patients with anxiety disorders are arranged according to different focus points. The framework is built using the various anxiety disorders (specific phobia, social anxiety disorders, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder). Based on these different anxiety disorders three different theories concerning the etiology and maintenance factors of anxiety are studied, i.e. (1) learning theory, (2) cognitive theory and (3) biological models of anxiety. In addition, treatment implications from these different theories are also studied.
Course objectives
Knowledge and insight
All students acquire knowledge and understanding about:
- Epidemiology and classification of the different anxiety disorders; Learning theory, classical and operant conditioning, applied to anxiety disorders and critical problems of classical conditioning;
- Cognitive models of anxiety disorders with emphasis on biases in cognitive processes in anxiety and application of recent cognitive models on each of the anxiety disorders;
- Biological models of anxiety with emphasis on physiological, neuropsychological and psychopharmacological aspects of anxiety;
- Treatment possibility of anxiety disorders from the three different perspectives;
- Important research paradigms in anxiety.