Archive for Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety Group Therapy
Posted by: | Comments
Patients suffering from anxiety are often treated with anxiety group therapy. The patients are assembled in small groups of approximately 6 to 15 people. There are both advantages and disadvantages to dealing with anxiety disorders in this way as opposed to seeing a therapist.
Anxiety Group Therapy – Advantages
It is of great help for an anxiety sufferer to know that he or she is not the only one who has problems such as these. In anxiety group therapy, the patient can interact with others without feeling ashamed or like an outsider. Since an anxiety patient sees themselves as an outsider on the fringes of society, this interaction will help them see that they are not such a freak after all.
The patients can talk about their problems with each other and share their experiences in anxiety group therapy. This can help them find solutions on their own for anxiety problems without the help of a therapist. While they are learning to cope with life, such as with the cognitive anxiety therapy, the patients can share experiences they have had that cause anxiety.
Another advantage of anxiety group therapy instead of seeing a therapist individually is it will help the patient to interact socially. A relaxed group setting lets the patient let go of anxious feelings and talk about things such as what they want out of life, their feelings, and trying to solve their problems with anxiety.
Anxiety Group Therapy – Disadvantages
There are disadvantages of anxiety group therapy as opposed to working with a therapist one on one. The therapist cannot give one patient as much attention as in a regular therapy session. The patient may become a wallflower in the group and not interact. He or she may need the individual attention a therapist can give. The patient’s specific problems may need more attention than what will happen in the group.
This is the reason that these two forms of therapy are used together for a patient to get both the individual attention and social interaction they need. The patient is seen individually away from the group. The patient’s medications is discussed as well as other special problems they have that they do not want to bring in front of the group. A licensed therapist or counselor will see all the patients’ one at a time to deal with these and other issues. Anxiety group therapy and seeing a therapist individually is a better solution than just using one of these methods.
email this to a friendPopularity: 10% [?]
Different Types of Anxiety Therapy
Posted by: | CommentsWhen your anxiety problem begins to control your life, and self-help is unsuccessful, you need to seek anxiety therapy. There are several options for those needing this type of therapy, a few of them are explained below.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
The term Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a type of psychotherapy in which it is believed that what we think rather than what is going on around us is the reason we have anxiety. It refers to a number of different types of anxiety psychotherapy. While other types of psychotherapy will continue for as long as the doctor thinks it is necessary this type is only done for a specified amount of time and thus is said to get results faster.
The goal of this approach in anxiety therapy is to change the way the patient thinks about the object of his or her anxiety or other disorder. For example if a person is afraid of heights, it may be that the patient is afraid of falling even when there is no danger of falling. In this case, the therapist would convince him or her they were in no danger from being in a high place unless of course it was in a situation where there was real danger.
In the case of anxiety therapy, CBT works to dispel the fears of the patient. For instance, when ongoing panic attacks are brought on by certain fears, these fears are discussed with the patient. Relaxation techniques are also used such as breathing exercises. Medications are sometimes used as well as rationalization about any fears that may be a factor in the panic attacks. Both of these approaches can be an effective panic attack treatment.
Medications and Anxiety Therapy
Medications are sometimes given, especially in the case of severe panic attacks. There are several other reasons in which medications are prescribed.
Sometimes antidepressants are given in anxiety therapy when clinical depression is linked to anxiety disorders. It is helpful in certain cases because treating the depression helps to relieve the anxiety.
Beta-Blockers are normally given to heart patients. In the case of anxiety attacks they may be used to treat the physical problems associated with it, such as accelerated heartbeat, shaking, and sweating.
Medicines have been developed for the sole purpose of using in anxiety therapy. BuSpar is used for GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It is used in chronic cases as it normally takes two weeks for it to take effect. This medicine needs to be taken daily so it would not be practical for occasional anxiety attacks. In this case, Benzodiazepines would be used as needed as soon as possible when a person is having an attack. The relief is fast and side effects are few, which makes it ideal for an occasional sufferer.
Always follow your doctor’s recommendations as to what medicine to take during your therapy. Consult your doctor before discontinuing any medications. You may believe you are cured but stopping your medication may allow your symptoms to recur.
email this to a friendPopularity: 8% [?]
Treating Existential Anxiety with Anxiety Psychotherapy
Posted by: | CommentsIn general, anxiety refers to what happens when people worry about things, such as money, bills, loved ones, or anything tangible. Some people however suffer from a different form of anxiety when they worry about things such as dying, why am I here, about getting a disease, and other abstract things. This is referred to as existential anxiety. It is also called angst, a German word because it was German speaking psychotherapists who discovered it to be a different type of anxiety. The following are three types of existential anxiety treatments.
Existential Anxiety Psychotherapy – Multi-Modal Therapy
A South African psychologist Arnold Lazarus developed a form of psychotherapy called Multimodal therapy. His reasons for doing this were due to the lack of a long-term success rate of patients treated with traditional Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT. This type of therapy bases their treatment and assessment around BASIC I.D. or behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal, and drugs. It is believed that each of these things should be addressed and dealt with in various ways.
Multimodal therapy is not practical for use in anxiety group therapy as it is customized to fit each patients needs in relation to their individual problems. Other treatments used in combination with this method include diet and exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthier life is believed to have a positive effect on the patient. If the patient is not living healthy, this may contribute to his or her anxiety.
Existential Anxiety Psychotherapy – Logotherapy
A Viennese neurologist named Victor Frankl developed Logotherapy. It is sometimes said to follow the work of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. The “will to meaning” is what Frankl focused on while Freud was concerned with the “will to pleasure” and Adler “will to power”. Frankl believed that humanity wants to see order in the cosmos and that his perception of cosmic disorder is what causes psychological problems.
Frankl survived the holocaust and his experiences in the Nazi concentration camp influenced his thinking greatly. He found through his suffering that life has meaning no matter how horrible a life you have. This is mirrored in his work.
Logotherapy is based around Socratic dialogue and self-observation. This anxiety treatment looks at suffering as a way to find meaning in life, for instance, finding love, achieving something, or accepting pain as a part of life. It does not try to instill a life without pain and suffering.
Existential Anxiety Psychotherapy – Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy
Albert Ellis was the developer of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy or REBT. Asian and Classical philosophers believe the human mind has components that conflict with each other, namely rational and irrational components. Irrational thoughts lead to anxiety and self-destructive tendencies. In REBT, anxiety psychotherapy, the goal is to replace irrational thoughts with rational ones. In this way, the patent can live a more productive and happier life.
email this to a friendPopularity: 27% [?]
