Death anxiety is considered to be a basic fear underlying the development and maintenance of numerous psychological conditions. Treatment of transdiagnostic constructs, such as death anxiety, may increase treatment efficacy across a range of disorders. Therefore, the purpose of the present review is to: (1) examine the role of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and Experimental Existential Psychology in understanding death anxiety as a transdiagnostic construct, (2) outline inventories used to evaluate the presence and severity of death anxiety, (3) review research evidence pertaining to the assessment and treatment of death anxiety in both non-clinical and clinical populations, and (4) discuss clinical implications and future research directions. Numerous inventories have been developed to evaluate the presence and severity of death anxiety, and research has provided compelling evidence that death anxiety is a significant issue, both theoretically and clinically. In particular, death anxiety appears to be a basic fear at the core of a range of mental disorders, including hypochondriasis, panic disorder, and anxiety and depressive disorders. Large-scale, controlled studies to determine the efficacy of well-established psychological therapies in the treatment of death anxiety as a transdiagnostic construct are warranted.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a surge in anxiety across the globe. Much of the public’s behavioural and emotional response to the virus can be understood through the framework of terror management theory, which proposes that fear of death drives much of human behaviour. In the context of the current pandemic, death anxiety, a recently proposed transdiagnostic construct, appears especially relevant. Fear of death has recently been shown to predict not only anxiety related to COVID-19, but also to play a causal role in various mental health conditions. Given this, it is argued that treatment programmes in mental health may need to broaden their focus to directly target the dread of death. Notably, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to produce significant reductions in death anxiety. As such, it is possible that complementing current treatments with specific CBT techniques addressing fears of death may ensure enhanced long-term symptom reduction. Further research is essential in order to examine whether treating death anxiety will indeed improve long-term outcomes, and prevent the emergence of future disorders in vulnerable populations. Key learning aims (1) To understand terror management theory and its theoretical explanation of death anxiety in the context of COVID-19. (2) To understand the transdiagnostic role of death anxiety in mental health disorders. (3) To understand current treatment approaches for directly targeting death anxiety, and the importance of doing so to improve long-term treatment outcomes.

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The CBT treatment was associated with significant and sustained improvements in psychological functioning but did not improve fluency.