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Jun 25, 2021 · Also called rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), RET aims to help you identify, challenge, and replace self-defeating thoughts and feelings. This is typically a short-term treatment, with ...
- Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder is readily treated through a...
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Overview
- Psychotherapy options for anxiety
- Which therapy option is best for anxiety?
- How does therapy help with anxiety?
- Bottom line
If your anxiety is driven by negative thought patterns or false beliefs, psychotherapy can help. Here are some of your options.
Anxiety can seem to come out of nowhere, but in many cases, it’s being driven or worsened by negative thought patterns, underdeveloped coping skills, or deeply-ingrained unconscious beliefs.
This is where psychotherapy, or talk therapy, can make a big difference.
When you get to the root of the anxiety — whether it’s false beliefs, past trauma, or poor social skills — you can begin to heal from the inside out.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely used evidence-based intervention for treating anxiety. CBT interventions for anxiety focus on helping you change unrealistic beliefs about the likelihood and true cost of anticipated harms by using various cognitive and behavioral (e.g., exposure) techniques. A 2018 review of 41 studies suggest that CBT is an effective intervention for anxiety-related disorders compared with a placebo. Researchers found that CBT was most effective for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and acute stress disorder. CBT is typically used short-term (once a week for 3–5 months) and is focused on the specific issue you want to address.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is based on the idea that painful thoughts and feelings are part of the human condition and that trying to avoid or control them only causes more suffering. ACT may help you develop greater psychological flexibility by teaching you to accept your difficult thoughts and feelings in a nonjudgmental way. You also learn to take action on your values, even in the midst of your painful feelings. ACT therapists use various mindfulness techniques as well as behavior-changing strategies. ACT is often used along with other forms of therapy and can be delivered in individual or group settings. It can be used as a short-term intervention or extended over a longer period of time.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is a type of CBT that gradually exposes you to the ideas or objects that trigger your anxiety or fear. This is done in a controlled and supportive environment so you can learn to manage your anxiety and reduce avoidant behaviors. Exposure therapy can be effective for the following conditions: •specific phobias •panic disorder •social anxiety disorder •OCD •post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Although OCD and PTSD are no longer categorized as anxiety disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition text-revision (DSM-5-TR), both disorders tend to feature high levels of anxiety.
There’s no one-size-fits-all therapy for anxiety, and it’s important that you choose the one that best meets your needs.
For instance, if your anxiety is being driven by relationship stress, then IPT might be best for you. Or if you think unhealed past traumas are driving your anxiety, you might benefit from psychodynamic therapy.
Therapy is quite effective for people with anxiety because it helps you:
•identify and change negative thought patterns
•learn healthy coping skills
•address underlying issues
If you live with anxiety, therapy can help you work through your negative thought patterns and learn new coping skills.
There are many types of psychotherapy, and depending on the root of your anxiety, you can find an effective option that best suits your needs and personal preferences.
- Traci Pedersen
Oct 1, 2016 · A form of psychotherapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is highly effective at treating anxiety disorders. Through CBT, psychologists help patients learn to identify and manage the factors that contribute to their anxiety. Through the cognitive component of therapy, patients learn to understand how their thoughts contribute to their ...
Therapy can help all degrees of anxiety, although in cases of severe anxiety, medication can be useful in calming the distressing physical and mental symptoms enough to allow patients to be ...
Oct 13, 2023 · Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a widely recognized and extensively studied form of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. It focuses on addressing the negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to anxiety. CBT operates on the principle that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, and by changing negative ...
Aug 21, 2024 · Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely-used therapy for anxiety disorders. Research has shown it to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, among many other conditions. CBT addresses negative patterns and distortions in the way we look at the world and ...
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May 4, 2018 · A psychologist and certain other mental health professionals can diagnose anxiety and provide counseling (psychotherapy). To help diagnose an anxiety disorder, your mental health provider may: Give you a psychological evaluation. This involves discussing your thoughts, feelings and behavior to help pinpoint a diagnosis and check for related ...
