A fear of one’s own emotions can lead people to develop what has been termed emotion- or affect phobia. To deal with this specific kind of phobia, Affect Phobia Therapy (APT) has proven to be useful. In APT, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and experimental techniques are combined to help the patient to learn to accept and manage emotions again. Research shows that especially people suffering from anxiety or depression and people with avoidant or dependent personality disorders benefit from this method.

This book offers a practical explanation of this evidence-based therapeutic method. The eight chapters focus on all different aspects of APT and the underlying theoretical concepts are illustrated with example patient-therapist dialogues.

Target Group: psychologists, psychotherapists, students