This work provides an entirely new perspective on emotional influences on mental and physical health. The authors present current thinking on the development and regulation of emotions and argue that several common but difficult to treat psychiatric illnesses, including drug addictions, eating disorders, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorders, are a consequence of an individual's inability to regulate distressing emotions through mental processes. They also advance a model in which dysregulated emotions may alter other bodily systems and thereby contribute to the development of physical illnesses and diseases. The book is generously illustrated throughout with clinical vignettes and provides descriptions of innovative therapeutic approaches. This volume will become a valuable and stimulating reference for clinicians and researchers alike.