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Agoraphobia

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Behavioral Theories and Treatment of Anxiety

Abstract

Agoraphobia is the most complex and disabling of the phobias. Agras, Sylves ter, and Oliveau (1969) have estimated that the prevalence rate of agoraphobia is 6 per 1,000 people. Although agoraphobia is not the most common phobia, it is the one seen most frequently by mental health professionals, mainly because comparatively few individuals with less disabling phobias ever seek professional help (Agras, Sylvester, & Oliveau, 1969). In fact, due to increased attention to agoraphobia in both scientific and lay publications in recent years, it seems that agoraphobics are at present more likely than ever to seek and receive professional help for their handicaps.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agoraphobia and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, Temple University Medical School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19131, USA

    Gerald T. O’Brien

  2. Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York, 12222, USA

    David H. Barlow

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  1. Gerald T. O’Brien
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Samuel M. Turner

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O’Brien, G.T., Barlow, D.H. (1984). Agoraphobia. In: Turner, S.M. (eds) Behavioral Theories and Treatment of Anxiety. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4694-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4694-4_4

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