Treating the New Anxiety : A Cognitive-Theological Approach

The post-9/11 age is characterized by collective anxiety about the state of the nation and the world. Through a cognitive-theological approach to the treatment of this anxiety, the author demonstrates that it is possible and indeed necessary to help those in our care to live meaningfully even in a time of change and uncertainty.

A new form of anxiety has emerged, stemming in part from our post-9/11 reality, but even more stemming from the influence of supermodernity. Whereas postmodernism theorizes an anxiety that results from the collapse or loss of meaning, through the lens of supermodernity it appears that the new anxiety is evoked more by an excess of meaning generated by the rapid acceleration of human life and the media''s daily bombardment with serious global, national, and local concerns. This book explores the nature of the anxiety our supermodern condition provokes, and proposes that with the void left by the diminishment of religious involvement and practice the therapy session becomes the definitive place for meaning-making. Building on a cognitive therapy approach that emphasizes the client''s belief system, Bingaman demonstrates that to treat this new anxiety most effectively, practitioners must help clients identify and explore their core theological beliefs and spiritual values.