Psychotherapy Approaches for Anxiety Treatment

Patients with anxiety will need psychotherapy for its management. People with this type of disorder react to unfavorable situations, thoughts, and feelings in an intense way. Managing this mental condition the right way can prevent worries and fears from developing. If you want to know the various psychotherapy approaches to treating anxiety, here are the details.

CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)

This is the most popular form of therapy for patients with anxiety. Studies show that CBT is effective for treating disorders such as panic disorders and phobias. This form of psychotherapy approach studies how one’s thoughts affect how a person feels and behaves. Its goal is to figure out what the negative thoughts and ineffective behaviors are. Changing them with more effective coping techniques follows.

DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy)

This type of CBT psychotherapy can treat many mental conditions, such as anxiety. This treatment helps the patient develop an opposite change, outlook, and acceptance. DBT motivates the patient to accept and change anxiety. Studies show that is the same as loving oneself while still trying to change for the better. Here are the different techniques in DBT:

• Emotion regulation manages anxiety before it worsens.
• Intrapersonal effectiveness is learning how to ask what one needs and how to say no.
• Mindfulness is connecting with the present and recalling past anxious thoughts.
• Distress tolerance manages anxiety during a stressful situation.

Exposure therapy

This is another type of CBT psychotherapy. It can treat various anxiety disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Exposure therapy is facing the thing that the person is afraid of. Here, the therapist will introduce the patient to various anxiety triggers. This uses a technique called systemic desensitization. Below are the three steps of systemic desensitization:

• Relaxing teaches the patient to calm down. Deep breathing, guided imagery, and meditation can bring down anxiety.
• Making a list of anxiety triggers and ranking them according to intensity can help the patient avoid them.
• Exposure to the triggers in the list while using relaxation techniques completes this psychotherapy.

The treatment team can use many ways to expose the patient to the triggers. Virtual reality exposure combines high technology with imaginal and in vivo exposure. This is often used on soldiers with PTSD. It can also work on policemen.

In vivo exposure makes the patient face an anxiety-triggering situation or object. A person can give a speech or sing in front of a crowd. Doing so can remove extreme stage fright. Imaginal exposure requests the patient to imagine the anxiety trigger. The patient can imagine either a situation or an object.

Art therapy

This type of psychotherapy is experience-oriented and non-verbal. It uses art to process and express emotions. Art is also a means of relaxation and mindfulness. This therapy can be used as a solo psychotherapy, but it can also be combined with CBT.