Illness Anxiety Disorder

Treatments

Exposure Therapy (ET)    

Summary of Treatment: Exposure therapy (ET) has been used to treat hypochondriasis. ET works by allowing patients to face their illness head on. Patients are exposed to their major sources of anxiety that stem from their hypochondriasis, and then they must process ways to positively overcome those anxieties. Through patients facing the source of their hypochondriasis while in a controlled setting, they are able to see that their belief and anxieties are not as severe or transparent as they thought. This ultimately helps to mediate the severity of their pervasive health worries. ET has similar techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy.   

• Reference: Weck, F., Nagel, L. C., Höfling, V., & Neng, J. M. B. (2017). Cognitive therapy and exposure therapy for hypochondriasis (health anxiety): a 3-year naturalistic follow-up. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 85 (10). 1012-1017.  

• Submitted by: N/A 

Cognitive Behavior Therapy 

Summary of Treatment: Cognitive behavior therapy has shown significance in treating the symptoms in individuals diagnosed with illness anxiety disorder, previously known as hypochondriasis and health anxiety. Cognitive behavior therapy has shown efficacy in helping individuals learn to identify and change their dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs associated with illness anxiety. Individuals learn strategies to cope with health-related anxiety by striving to prevent their fear of having or acquiring the illness, frequently seeking medical care, or avoidance of medical care. A meta-analysis conducted by Olatunji et al. (2014) describes a research methodology outlining the theoretical framework, data collection methods, and assessments used to prove the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy as a prime treatment approach for illness anxiety disorder. Although the use of cognitive behavior therapy may be beneficial in treating illness anxiety, the number of sessions may be difficult to determine as the study used a range of sessions between 3 and 16. 

• Reference: Olatunji, B. O., Kauffman, B. Y., Meltzer, S., Davis, M. L., Smits, J. A. J., & Powers, M. B. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for hypochondriasis/health anxiety: A meta-analysis of treatment outcome and moderators. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.05.002 

Submitted by: Valentina Ignacio