In this provocative volume, Ronald M. Rapee brings together leading researchers in the area of anxiety disorders to examine the most salient conceptual debates in the field. To provide readers with a uniquely balanced perspective on the issues, each author presents a theoretical position and responds to a critique from those with opposing views. With the strengths and limitations of each position laid out in this way, the book offers a comprehensive introduction to the broad range of topics in the anxiety disorders.

Topics covered include distinctions among the anxiety disorders, models of obsessive-compulsive disorder, models of panic disorder, and mechanisms of exposure therapy. Organized into three parts--Classification, Etiology, and Treatment, the volume presents such lively and informative debates as:
* Validity of the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV classification of anxiety disorders--Timothy A. Brown, Gavin Andrews, and Bruce F. Chorpita
* Emotion-theory and information-processing perspectives on panic disorder--Ronald M. Rapee, Martin M. Antony, and David H. Barlow
* Obsessive-compulsive disorder from anxierty, neurological, and schizotypal perspectives--Paul M. Salkovskis, Teresa M. Pigott, Karen R. Myers, David A. Williams, and Simon J. Enright
* Distinguishing anxiety sensitivity from trait anxiety--Richard J. McNally and Scott O. Lilienfeld
* The preparedness account of social phobia--Arne Ohman, Nigel W. Bond, and David A. T. Siddle
* Mechanisms of exposure therapy--Edna B. Foa, Richard J. McNally, and Lloyd Williams

Setting a course for future research and providing insights for clinical practice, this work will be welcomed by clinical psychologists, researchers, and graduate students in clinical psychology and psychiatry. It is also an ideal supplementary text for graduate courses in clinical psychology; in particular, for those focusing on psychopathology, anxiety/affective disorders, and research methodology and design.