Collaborative case formulation is key in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety and panic

Reviews the video, Cognitive–behavioral therapy for clients with anxiety and panic by Bunmi O. Olatunji (2011). In this DVD, expert clinician Bunmi O. Olatunji, of Vanderbilt University, collaborates with a real female client with panic attacks and comorbid anxiety problems to provide her with a new way of understanding her symptoms. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) principles guide the selection, focus, and sequence of subsequent interventions. The reviewers comment that the single session presented in this DVD is ambitious, with a great deal of content jam-packed into 45 minutes. Olatunji was able to (a) set an agenda for the session; (b) gather some relevant history from the client that informs understanding of her current symptoms; (c) formulate the client’s anxiety model by eliciting her catastrophic beliefs about anxiety, as well as behavioral and cognitive avoidance strategies; (d) provide psychoeducation about anxiety; (e) use the client’s real-life examples to introduce the idea of exposure therapy and habituation; (f) develop a preliminary exposure hierarchy; (g) use cognitive reframing and motivational interviewing techniques to address ambivalence in trying exposure therapy; and (h) elicit commitment to specific therapy homework. The DVD ends with a second interview with Olatunji with his final thoughts on the therapy session and CBT. The reviewers comment that Olatunji not only exhibits warmth, genuineness, curiosity, and enthusiasm throughout the session, but he also demonstrates true collaboration with his client. this DVD may be more suitable for clinicians with some familiarity with CBT. The reviewers note that students or clinicians new to CBT may benefit by watching demonstrations of specific cognitive restructuring techniques and the delivery of exposure therapy (e.g., interoceptive exposure) with the aid of other training DVDs because Olatunji’s DVD does not provide in-depth demonstrations of techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)