The Mindful Way through Anxiety

December 1, 2010

Working in anxiety disorders research and treatment for 20-plus years, Orsillo (psychology, Suffolk Univ., Boston) and Roemer (psychology, Univ. of Massachusetts at Boston) present a valuable summary of their ten-year, NIH-funded focus on researching and treating anxiety. The authors developed a method that helps sufferers fundamentally change their relationship with anxiety. In clear, compassionate language, they describe how to gain awareness of anxious feelings without letting them escalate, how to reap the benefits of emotional and physical well-being, and how to open one's life to inspiring new possibilities. Orsillo and Roemer cover understanding fear and anxiety, how anxiety can complicate one's life, and how to change a relationship with anxiety through mindfulness. They include pragmatic chapters on developing the skills of mindfulness, using the technique to clarify emotions, and a Zen-like approach to acceptance and opening up to new possibilities. VERDICT Among the array of titles on various anxiety disorders, this book manages to add an important new clinical approach to treating anxiety that, while heavily rooted in the Buddhist spiritual tradition, will still appeal to lay readers battling with or interested in anxiety as well as professionals treating the disorder.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX

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