John H Riskind

John H Riskind

John H Riskind

Emeritus Faculty

Cognitive-behavioral research, treatment, and theory of anxiety, mood, and related disorders.

Professor Riskind is a specialist in cognitive-behavioral research, treatment, and theory of anxiety, mood, and related disorders. His most recent book, Cognitive Vulnerability to Emotional Disorders, with Lauren Alloy, appeared in 2006. He is also currently completing two books with Neil Rector, Looming Vulnerability: Theory and Applications to anxiety (for Springer Press), and Anxiety and Depression Co-morbidity: A Transdiagnostic Theoretical and Clinical Approach (for Guilford Press). He has published numerous journal articles in cognitive-behavioral, social psychological, and psychiatric journals as well as many chapters.

Riskind has been the editor or associate editor of several cognitive-behavioral journals and is the editor of the International Journal of Cognitive Therapy. He serves on the Executive Boards of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, where he is also a Founding Fellow, and the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy. He previously held the position of Director of Research at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1983-1985.

Current Research

One topic of research is stress generation, which concerns the processes by which individuals can ironically behave in ways to create their own interpersonal or achievement problems that can make them more anxious.

Riskind is developing an innovative “looming reduction” treatment for reducing problem worry and anxiety.

Another topic of research concerns vulnerability factors that make individuals susceptible to developing anxiety disorders.

Selected Publications

Riskind, J. H., Black, D., & Shahar, G. (2010). Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety in the stress generation process: Interaction between the looming cognitive style and anxiety sensitivity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 124-128

Riskind, J. H., Tzur, D., Williams, N., Mann, B., & Shahar, G. (2007). Short-term predictive effects of the looming cognitive style on anxiety disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1765-1777.

Riskind, J. H., & Alloy, L. B. (2006). Cognitive Vulnerability to Psychological Disorders: Theory, Design, and Methods. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25. 705-725

His papers have appeared in Behavior Research and Therapy, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Cognitive Therapy and Research, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Social Cognition, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, and others.

Courses Taught

PSYCH 231 Social Cognitive Intervention

PSYCH 881 – Clinical Supervision

PSYCH 231 – Social Psychology

PSYCH 325 – Abnormal Psychology

Recent Presentations

Riskind, J. H., Black, D., & Shahar, G. (2010). Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety in the stress generation process: Interaction between the looming cognitive style and anxiety sensitivity. Presented in symposium at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. New Work, November.

Riskind, J. H., & Black, D. (2010). Lifetime History of Anxiety and Mood Disorders Predicted by Anxiety Sensitivity and Looming Cognitive Style. Presented in symposium at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. New York, November.

Riskind J.H., & Blaban, M. (2010). Why Worry? Relationships of Problem Worry to Meta-Cognitive Factors and Looming Cognitive Style. Presented in symposium at the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, Boston, June.

Dissertations Supervised

Evan Kleiman, The Stress Generation Theory Explains Unanswered Questions in Suicide Research: An Integrated Diathesis-Stress Model of Suicide (2013)