How psychologists help with anxiety disorders

Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their lives, however, if you are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, you might suffer from anxiety on an everyday basis.?With proper treatment, anxiety is manageable. Learn how psychologists can help with anxiety?and the types of therapy available for anxiety. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to?doralhw.org.

Can psychologists help with anxiety??

Yes, psychologists can help you with anxiety because they are trained professionals who can diagnose anxiety disorders and teach patients how to cope with their anxiety. They teach different therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat your anxiety disorders effectively. Through therapies, they help you to understand and manage the factors that lead to anxiety.

Patients learn how to understand their thoughts which leads to the symptoms of anxiety. By learning those patterns, they can lower the risk and intensity of anxiety symptoms. When patients learn techniques to lower undesired behaviors linked with anxiety disorders, they can approach activities and situations that trigger anxiety to overcome their fear outcomes.

?Therapy for Anxiety

Depending on the type of anxiety disorder you’re?experiencing, psychologists recommend different therapies to teach you how to identify the factors that cause anxiety and how to change and handle your reaction towards them. There are different types?of therapies used to manage anxiety. The type of therapy recommended is based on your diagnosis and specific symptoms. Here are the most common types of therapies used to treat anxiety disorders:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):

This is the most widely used therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Research has found it effective in treating panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, among many other conditions. During CBT treatment, your psychologist helps teach you different ways?to identify and manage the factors that trigger your anxiety. This addresses your negative thought patterns and ineffective behavior patterns and replaces them with more realistic thoughts and effective coping mechanisms. It involves two main components, including:

• Cognitive therapy for examining negative thoughts, or cognitions that lead to anxiety.
• Behavior therapy examines how you behave and react in specific situations that trigger anxiety.

During cognitive therapy, the psychologist teaches ways to cope with those negative thoughts or cognition that led to anxiety. During behavior therapy, your psychologist will encourage you to face anxiety-provoking activities, to learn how to overcome your fear. This therapy is also used to treat a wide range of mental health problems like major depression, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and mood disorders. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that the effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy helped reduce anxiety symptoms of youth with ASD.

2. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT):

This therapy was created to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD). But it is also effective in treating a variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and bipolar disorder. During DBT, you focus on accepting your anxiety while working to change your thoughts and behaviors. This therapy includes 4 powerful skills:

• Mindfulness:?This helps you to connect with the present moment and notice passing thoughts without judging them.
• Distress tolerance: Manage your anxiety when facing a stressful situation.
• Interpersonal effectiveness:?Learn how to say no, or ask what you need.
• Emotion regulation:?Managing anxiety before it gets out of control.

3. Exposure therapy (ET):

This is a common CBT method used to treat anxiety-related disorders, including social anxiety, specific phobias, and PTSD. This technique is also known as systematic desensitization where clients are gradually exposed to anxiety-invoking objects or situations. It involves the following steps:

• Relax: Your therapist will teach you relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and deep breathing to manage your anxiety symptoms.
• List: Your therapist helps to create a list of your triggers based on ranking them in order of intensity.
• Expose: Your therapist will gradually expose you to anxiety-provoking objects or situations, to check how you use relaxation techniques to manage your anxiety.

Your therapist may expose you to triggers like imaginal exposure, in vivo exposure, and virtual reality exposure. According to a 2001 clinical trial, virtual reality exposure therapy is very helpful?in treating PTSD.

4. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT):

This is also an effective treatment for anxiety and related disorders. During ACT, your psychologists teach different ways?to identify your life values and act in ways that match your values. It has two main components, including:

• Accepting that thoughts and feelings don’t?necessarily need to be controlled.
• Committing to take necessary actions to live life according to your values.

Researchers have found that internet-based ACT treatment works for a variety of anxiety disorders. In an additional study, a combination of commitment therapy and cognitive therapy was found effective in treating anxiety and depression patients in clinical practice.

5. Art therapy:

This therapy is a non-verbal, experience-oriented therapy based on either using visual art (such as painting, drawing, or sculpting) to express and process emotion or using art to practice mindfulness and relaxation. Although it is a standalone therapy, it can be used in combination with other treatment methods like CBT. This is a newer form of therapy, so more research is needed to ensure its effectiveness in reducing anxiety symptoms.

6. Interpersonal therapy (IPT):

This therapy focuses on social roles and relationships. Your therapist helps you identify the interpersonal issues you may have such as unresolved grief, conflicts with family and friends, changes in work or social roles, and problems related to others. You need to learn healthy ways to express emotions and ways to improve your communication with others. Although this therapy is created to treat major depression, IPT may be used if your anxiety is related to your relationships with other people like SAD.

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How to make the most of therapy??

Changing yourself can be a challenge and anxiety therapy is no exception. However, if you stay persistent, you can notice improvement. Here are some ways to make the most of therapy to see actual results:

• Don’t?pretend to be OK.
• Ask questions.
• Tell your therapist anything and everything.
• Complete your work outside the sessions.
• Focus on your goals.
• Practice healthy lifestyle choices.
• Keep a social support system.
• Lower stress in your life to prevent making anxiety worse.

In this way, you can make a noticeable effort and be present throughout the therapy process to make the biggest impact on how well it works for you.

If you are?diagnosed with anxiety disorder, it can impact your everyday functioning. That’s?why you should seek professional medical help. Psychologists are trained medical professionals who offer different therapeutic approaches to help manage anxiety disorders?and improve your life quality.

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Need help with anxiety disorders, call to book your appointment with our mental health professional in Brooklyn clinic to get professional medical help to learn effective ways to overcome your anxiety and live a better life!

Book your appointment with the best mental health professionals in Brooklyn; our doctors and staff ensure you get the best results. Call us on +1-347-384-5690?to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to?doralhw.org.?Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.

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