Avoidance and escape refer to behaviors where people either do not enter a situation (avoidance) or leave situations after they have entered (escape). Distraction is considered to be a subtle form of avoidance behavior. Avoidance and escape are natural mechanisms for coping with many kinds of pain and trauma. When used as part of a repertoire of other coping mechanisms, escape and avoidance can considered adaptive. However, they are considered problematic when used too frequently or when they are used to the exclusion of other strategies, and they are included as diagnostic features of a range of disorders.Clinically, avoidance and escape are considered to be problematic because:
- avoidance and escape behaviors remove the opportunity to disconfirm negative beliefs (Salkovskis, 1991);
- they reduce an individual’s opportunities to obtain positive reinforcement and thus contribute to the maintenance of low mood (Ferster, 1973; Lewinsohn, 1975);
- they reduce the number of external stimuli present in an individual’s environment (‘shrinks their world’) which may exacerbate self-focused attention and repetitive thinking (Harvey, Watkins, Mansell, & Shafran, 2004);
- according to a habituation model of anxiety the relatively brief exposure periods occasioned by escape and avoidance may server to ‘sensitize’ patients to their feared stimuli (Wilson & O’Leary, 1980).
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100 of 108 resources
100 of 108 resources
A Guide To Emotions (Psychology Tools For Living Well)
Cognitive behavioral therapy can help your clients to live happier and more fulfilling lives.Psychology Tools for Living Wellis a self-help course ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/a-guide-to-emotions-psychology-tools-for-living-well
Books & Chapters
ABC Model
ABC is an acronym for Antecedents, Behavior, Consequences. It is used as a tool for the assessment and formulation of problem behaviors and is useful ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/abc-model
Worksheets
Activity Diary (Hourly Time Intervals)
Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary-hourly-time-intervals
Worksheets
Activity Diary (No Time Intervals)
Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary-no-time-intervals
Worksheets
Activity Menu
Helping clients to choose which activities to target during behavioral activation (BA) can be accomplished in a variety of ways: activity monitoring c ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-menu
Information handouts
Activity Planning
Research suggests that an activity is more likely to be completed if it is planned and scheduled in advance. The Activity Planning worksheet can be us ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-planning
Worksheets
Activity Selection
Activity selection is a technique for rating the difficulty of different activities. It is a helpful tool when clients have difficulty choosing betwee ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-selection
Worksheets
Am I Experiencing Death Anxiety?
Am I Experiencing Death Anxiety? is an indicative screening tool, designed to help clients self-assess whether their experiences might warrant further ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-death-anxiety
Am I Experiencing Depression?
Depression is a condition characterized by an extended period of low mood, anhedonia, and reduction in activity. Am I Experiencing Depression? is an i ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-depression
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a condition characterized by problematic worry. Am I Experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder? is an indicative ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety (also referred to as illness anxiety disorder and hypochondriasis) is a condition characterized by a preoccupation with, or fear about, ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-health-anxiety
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Panic Attacks?
Panic attacks are discrete episodes of intense fear or apprehension. They are accompanied by the rapid and concurrent onset of characteristic symptoms ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-panic-attacks
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Panic Disorder?
Panic attacks are discrete episodes of intense fear or apprehension, accompanied by the rapid and concurrent onset of several physiological and psycho ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-panic-disorder
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized by unwanted memories of trauma, high levels of arousal, and avoidance. Am I Experie ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
Exercises
Am I Experiencing Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performance situations that is out of proportion to the ac ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-social-anxiety
Exercises
Approach Instead Of Avoiding (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)
When we start to avoid things it can shrink the number of places that it feels ‘safe’ to go. It can cut us off from rewarding experiences, and avo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/approach-instead-of-avoiding-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic
Books & Chapters
Assertive Communication
Communicating and acting assertively is an interpersonal skill that helps people to maintain healthy relationships, resolve interpersonal conflict, an ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/assertive-communication
Information handouts
Audio Collection: Psychology Tools For Overcoming PTSD
The Psychology Tools for Overcoming PTSD Audio Collection is designed for anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This skills development p ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/psychology-tools-for-overcoming-ptsd-audio-collection
Audio
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) automatically regulates the function of body systems outside of voluntary control. The Autonomic Nervous System han ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/autonomic-nervous-system
Information handouts
Avoidance Hierarchy (Archived)
NOTE: An improved version of this resource is available here: Fear Ladder. Older versions of a resource may be archived in the event that they are ava ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/avoidance-hierarchy
Archived
Balance
Our sense of balance is the result of a complex system which receives visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive inputs. This Balance client information h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/balance
Information handouts
Behavioral Activation Activity Diary
Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective treatment for depression. Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment componen ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-activation-activity-diary
Worksheets
Behavioral Activation Activity Planning Diary
Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective treatment for depression. Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment componen ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-activation-activity-planning-diary
Worksheets
Behavioral Experiment
Behavioral experiments are planned experiential activities to test the validity of a belief. They are one of the most powerful techniques available to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment
Worksheets
Behavioral Experiment (Portrait Format)
Behavioral experiments allow individuals to test the validity of their beliefs and assumptions. They are a core experiential technique for therapeutic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment-portrait-format
Worksheets
Being With Difficulty (Audio)
Being With Difficulty is a mindfulness exercise which gently brings present-moment awareness to bear upon thoughts and feelings that are more difficul ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/being-with-difficulty-audio
Audio
CBT Appraisal Model
The CBT Appraisal Model worksheet is a transdiagnostic formulation tool. The centrality of appraisals underpins all of the disorder-specific cognitive ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cbt-appraisal-model
Worksheets
Changing Avoidance (Behavioral Activation)
Behavioral activation (BA) is a structured psychotherapeutic approach effective for a range of disorders, including depression (Ekers et al., 2014), a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/changing-avoidance-behavioral-activation
Worksheets
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Anorexia Nervosa (Fairburn, Cooper, Shafran, 2003)
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by restriction of energy intake and intense fear of gaining weight. For women, the lifetime preva ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-anorexia-nervosa-fairburn-cooper-shafran-2003
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Depersonalization (Hunter, Phillips, Chalder, Sierra, David, 2003)
Depersonalization is an experience where an individual feels a sense of detachment from themselves, or estrangement from their perceptions, actions, a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-depersonalization-hunter-phillips-chalder-sierra-david-2003
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Body Sensations
Fear of bodily sensations is present in a number of conditions, most notably panic disorder. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Bodily Sensatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-fear-of-body-sensations
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety (Salkovskis, Warwick, Deale, 2003)
Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-health-anxiety-salkovskis-warwick-deale-2003
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic (Clark, 1986)
The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic identifies catastrophic misinterpretation of body sensations as a criticial maintenance factor which serves to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-panic-clark-1986
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD: Whalley, Cane, 2017)
Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a form of dizziness which is thought to be maintained by psychological factors. This is a Cognitive ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-persistent-postural-perceptual-dizziness-pppd-whalley-cane-2017
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD: Ehlers & Clark, 2000)
Anke Ehlers' & David Clark'sCognitive Behavioral Model Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)is an influential account of the condition. The ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-ehlers-clark-2000
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Social Phobia (Clark, Wells, 1995)
People suffering from social anxiety disorder (previously known as social phobia) experience persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performan ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-social-phobia-clark-wells-1995
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus (McKenna, Handscombe, Hoare, Hall, 2014)
The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus identifies cognitive, behavioral, and perceptual changes which operate to maintain tinnitus perception and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-tinnitus-mckenna-handscombe-hoare-hall-2014
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood OCD: It's Only A False Alarm: Therapist Guide
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood OCD: It’s Only A False Alarm comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the fo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-treatment-of-childhood-ocd-its-only-a-false-alarm-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Childhood OCD: It's Only a False Alarm: Workbook
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood OCD: It’s Only A False Alarm comes in two volumes. This page is for the Workbook. Click on the following ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-treatment-of-childhood-ocd-its-only-a-false-alarm-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Critical Care And PTSD
The Critical Care And PTSD information handout is designed to help clients to learn about the properties of critical care that can increase the likeli ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/critical-care-and-ptsd
Information handouts
Critical Illness Intensive Care And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This is a free guide designed for people who have spent time in an intensive care unit and are experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/critical-illness-intensive-care-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
Guides
Embracing Uncertainty
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) was first described in individuals suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Many behaviors associated with G ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/embracing-uncertainty
Exercises
Exposure And Response (Ritual) Prevention For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the f ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-and-response-ritual-prevention-for-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Exposure And Response Prevention
Exposure And Response Prevention (ERP, EX/RP) is an effective treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This CBT worksheet guides therapists ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-and-response-prevention
Exercises
Exposure Practice Form
Exposure is an effective treatment for many forms of anxiety. The Exposure Practice Form is a CBT worksheet which guides therapists and clients throug ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-practice-form
Exercises
Exposure Session Record
The Exposure Session Record is a tool for recording clients’ use of exposure. The worksheet guides clients to identify a specific fear they are will ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-session-record
Worksheets
Facing Your Fears (CYP)
Graded or graduated exposure is a traditional way of overcoming fears and phobias. The therapist helps the client to draw up a list of feared situatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/facing-your-fears-cyp
Exercises
Facing Your Fears And Phobias
The Facing Your Fears And Phobias guide is written for clients who struggle with fears or phobias. It provides comprehensive information about what fe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/facing-your-fears-and-phobias
Guides
Fear Ladder
The Fear Ladder is a tool for exploring and ranking the contexts or situations in which a client experiences fear. It is designed to help the client a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fear-ladder
Worksheets
Fight or Flight (CYP)
The Fight Or Flight (CYP) information handout has been specifically designed for younger children and includes carefully simplified language. The prof ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-cyp
Information handouts
Fight Or Flight Response
The fight or flight response is an automatic physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening. The perception of threa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response
Information handouts
Habituation
The Habituation information sheets are designed to help clinicians to explain the concept of habituation and its role in exposure therapy. The handout ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/habituation
Information handouts
Health Anxiety Formulation
Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-formulation
Information handouts
Interoceptive Exposure
Misappraisals of body sensations trigger emotional and physiological reactions of fear and heightened arousal. These feelings motivate behavioral resp ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interoceptive-exposure
Exercises
Intolerance Of Uncertainty
Uncertainty is a normal part of life – we can never be 100% sure about what will happen next. Many people feel good about uncertainty and live lives ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intolerance-of-uncertainty
Information handouts
Managing Social Anxiety (Third Edition): Therapist Guide
Managing Social Anxiety – A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the following ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/managing-social-anxiety-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Managing Social Anxiety (Third Edition): Workbook
Managing Social Anxiety – A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach comes in two volumes. This page is for the Workbook. Click on the following link t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/managing-social-anxiety-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Mastery And Pleasure Activity Diary
Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mastery-and-pleasure-activity-diary
Worksheets
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic (Fifth Edition): Therapist Guide
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the following link to access the accompanying C ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mastery-of-your-anxiety-and-panic-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic (Fifth Edition): Workbook
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic comes in two volumes. This page is for the Workbook. Click on the following link to access the accompanying Therapis ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mastery-of-your-anxiety-and-panic-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Worry (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Worry comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the following link to access the accompanying W ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mastery-of-your-anxiety-and-worry-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Worry (Second Edition): Workbook
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Worry comes in two volumes. This page is for the Workbook. Click on the following link to access the accompanying Therapis ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/mastery-of-your-anxiety-and-worry-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Maximizing The Effectiveness Of Exposure Therapy
Despite its position as the leading treatment technique for anxiety disorders, not all clients respond to exposure therapy and some individuals relaps ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/maximizing-the-effectiveness-of-exposure-therapy
Information handouts
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Formulation
An important treatment implication of the cognitive behavioral model of OCD is that clinicians can work at the level of the meaning of the intrusion. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-formulation
Worksheets
OCD Hierarchy
Part of traditional CBT treatment for OCD is exposure to situations which trigger obsessions (classically accompanied by the prevention of the associa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/ocd-hierarchy
Exercises
Overcoming Eating Disorders (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
Overcoming Eating Disorders comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the following link to access the Client Workbook.&nbs ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/overcoming-eating-disorders-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Overcoming Your Eating Disorder: Workbook
Overcoming Eating Disorders comes in two volumes. This page is for the Client Workbook. Click on the following link to access the accompanying Therapi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/overcoming-your-eating-disorder-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Pacing For Pain And Fatigue
Pacing is an evidence-based approach to increasing activity and fitness, and in reducing overall pain and fatigue. It is designed to prevent 'boom and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/pacing-for-pain-and-fatigue
Exercises
Panic - Self-Monitoring Record
Developing self-monitoring skills teaches clients to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, body feelings, emo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/panic-self-monitoring-record
Worksheets
Panic Attack Record
Self-monitoring of thoughts, feelings, and symptoms is an essential skill for clients engaged in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The Panic Attack ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/panic-attack-record
Worksheets
Panic Formulation
The aim of a formulation is to help the client and therapist to come to a shared understanding of what a client is experiencing. The Panic Formulation ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/panic-formulation
Worksheets
Problem Solving
Problem Solving is a structured worksheet which encourages solution-focused thinking. Clients are encouraged to identify a problem, identify multiple ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-solving
Exercises
Problem Solving (CYP)
Effective problem solving is an essential life skill and this Problem Solving worksheet is designed to guide children and adolescents through steps wh ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-solving-cyp
Exercises
Process Focused Case Formulation
The Process-Focused Case Formulation encourages clinicians to make hypotheses regarding mechanismsor processeswhich they believe may be maintainin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/process-focused-case-formulation
Worksheets
Prolonged Exposure Therapy For PTSD (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
Prolonged Exposure Therapy For PTSD comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. Click on the following link to access the accompanying ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/prolonged-exposure-therapy-for-ptsd-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
PTSD Formulation
This PTSD Formulation is designed for use in trauma-focused cognitive therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD): an empirically supported treatment for post-traumati ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/ptsd-formulation
Worksheets
Reclaiming Your Life From A Traumatic Experience (Second Edition): Workbook
Prolonged Exposure Therapy For PTSD comes in two volumes. This page is for the Client Workbook. Click on the following link to access the accompanying ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/reclaiming-your-life-from-a-traumatic-experience-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Safety Behaviors
Safety behaviors are actions carried out with the intention of preventing a feared catastrophe. In the short-term they often give a sense of relief, b ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/safety-behaviors
Information handouts
Self-Monitoring Record (Universal)
Developing self-monitoring skills teaches clients to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, body feelings, emo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/self-monitoring-record-universal
Worksheets
Social Anxiety Formulation
People suffering from social anxiety disorder (previously known as social phobia) experience persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performan ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/social-anxiety-formulation
Worksheets
Stages Of Social Anxiety
The Stages Of Social Anxiety worksheet is a tool to record unhelpful socially anxious responses to social situations, and to map alternative ways of t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/stages-of-social-anxiety
Worksheets
Starvation Syndrome – The Effects of Semi-Starvation
The Starvation Syndrome – Effects of Semi-Starvation handout provides an overview of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment and common symptoms of semi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/starvation-syndrome-the-effects-of-semi-starvation
Information handouts
Stimulus Discrimination (Audio)
The Stimulus Discrimination audio exercise is taken from the Psychology Tools For Overcoming PTSD Audio Collection. It is designed to help people with ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/stimulus-discrimination-audio
Audio
Thought Suppression And Intrusive Thoughts
Suppression is a common approach to unwanted thoughts, worriers, doubts, or urges. Unfortunately, there are good reasons why this strategy fails. This ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thought-suppression-and-intrusive-thoughts
Information handouts
Transdiagnostic Processes
A ‘transdiagnostic process’ is the label given to a mechanism which is present across disorders and which is either a risk or maintaining factor f ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/transdiagnostic-processes
Information handouts
Treating Your OCD With Exposure And Response (Ritual) Prevention (Second Edition): Workbook
Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention for Obessssive-Compulsive Disorder comes in two volumes. This page is for the Client Workbook. Click on the ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/treating-your-ocd-with-exposure-and-response-ritual-prevention-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Uncertainty Beliefs – Experiment Record
Situations which are uncertain, novel, or ambiguous trigger a state of uncertainty. Evidence indicates that individuals who are dispositionally high i ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/uncertainty-beliefs-experiment-record
Worksheets
Understanding Death Anxiety
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-death-anxiety
Guides
Understanding Depression
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-depression
Guides
Understanding Fears And Phobias
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-fears-and-phobias
Guides
Understanding Health Anxiety
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-health-anxiety
Guides
Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Our‘Understanding…’series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd
Guides
Understanding Panic
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-panic
Guides
Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
Guides
Understanding Social Anxiety
Our ‘Understanding…’ series is a collection of psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions. Friendly and explanatory, they are co ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/understanding-social-anxiety
Guides
Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition): Client Workbook
The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition) comes in two volumes. This page is for the Client Workbook. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unified-protocol-for-transdiagnostic-treatment-of-emotional-disorders-second-edition-client-workbook
Treatments That Work™
Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Second Edition) comes in two volumes. This page is for the Therapist Guide. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unified-protocol-for-transdiagnostic-treatment-of-emotional-disorders-second-edition-therapist-guide
Treatments That Work™
Values: Connecting To What Matters
Values: Connecting To What Matters is a practical self-help guide which introduces the reader to a cornerstone of acceptance and commitment therapy (A ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/values-connecting-to-what-matters
Guides
What Are Safety Behaviors?
Safety-seeking behaviors (‘safety behaviors’) are actions that people take in response to a real – or perceived – threat. When a threat is rea ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-are-safety-behaviors
Information handouts
What Is Worry?
Worrying is a form of thinking about the future, defined as thinking about future events in a way that leaves you feeling anxious or apprehensive. Cli ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-is-worry
Information handouts
Links to external resources
Psychology Tools makes every effort to check external links and review their content. However, we are not responsible for the quality or content of external links and cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time.
Assessment
- Oxford - Agoraphobic Avoidance Scale (O-AS) | Lambe, S., Bird, J. C., Loe, B. S., Rosebrock, L., Kabir, T., Petit, A., ... & Freeman, D. | 2023
- Scale
- Reference Lambe, S., Bird, J. C., Loe, B. S., Rosebrock, L., Kabir, T., Petit, A., ... & Freeman, D. (2023). The Oxford agoraphobic avoidance scale. Psychological Medicine, 53(4), 1233-1243.
Exercises
- Facing your fears: Exposure | Anxiety Canada
What Are Avoidance And Escape?
Disorders That May Be Maintained by Avoidance and Escape
Avoidance and escape are often maintenance factors in:
- panic disorder with or without agoraphobia
- specific phobia
- social phobia
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder
- generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- pain disorder
- health anxiety
- body dysmorphic disorder
- eating disorders
- depression
- psychotic disorders
- substance abuse disorders
Helpful Questions for Assessing Avoidance and Escape
Some helpful questions for assessing avoidance and escape include:
- How do you respond when you feel threatened?
- What activities/people/places/situations/objects do you avoid?
- What does the avoidance get in the way of you doing?
- What would happen if you stopped avoiding?
Treatment Approaches That Target Avoidance and Escape
Exposure is often considered the method of choice to reduce avoidance across the anxiety disorders. Varieties of exposure techniques include in-vivo exposure, graded exposure, and interoceptive exposure. Mowrer’s two-stage model of fear and avoidance is cited as the origin of the behavioral practice of reducing avoidance (Mowrer, 1939, 1960). According to this theory, avoidance behavior is reinforced when it is followed by a reduction in anxiety.
Cognitive techniques have also been found to be highly effective treatments for anxiety, with successful treatment leading to reductions in avoidance (Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2015).
References
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