Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective therapies for anxiety disorders, and one of the most researched.
The cognitive part of cognitive therapy focuses on our patterns of thinking, and how those thoughts and belief's color our experience. By becoming more aware of our automatic internalized self talk, we can then begin to change it, for healthier, coping thoughts that allow us to move forward in our lives. Our mind plays tricks on us, and when we learn about our patterns of thinking, we can begin to outsmart anxiety. |
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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When working with children, therapists involve family members in order to help them learn CBT, and reinforce it at home since parents are there the rest of the time, rather than just 45 min a week. With children, we help them identify and externalize the anxiety, giving it a name and learning how to not let it bully them. We find out what the worry tells us, and what it wants us to do, and how to not listen to it. The worry says you can't go to that playdate because something bad will happen, and we help the kids say, "no, I'm not going to listen to you worry, you're not getting in the way of my fun". By positioning ourselves against the anxiety, we can learn to overcome it, and use playful ways such as role play, drawing, puppets, etc.
The behavioral aspects of CBT focus on building tools, such as breathing retraining, behavioral plans for increasing affect regulation, as well as exposure to anxiety in order to increase one's tolerance to anxiety. One of the most important aspects of anxiety treatment is that we are able to change our relationship to anxiety, from something that is feared and must be gotten rid of, to something that is understood as natural, inevitable, but not horrible, but something we can overcome. Parents learn how as they're trying to help their children, they may be inadvertently reinforcing avoidance, which strengthens anxiety. We'll learn techniques for helping your child to face and overcome their fears.
If you've never done CBT, you might think of therapy as just recounting the week, there therapist just playing with your child, and saying see you next week, or them just having someone to talk to. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is goal directed, focusing on helping your child change their life for the better, and learn tools and exercises to shift their thinking, and creating lasting change quickly, so that they are able to end therapy and you and your child will not have to keep coming back.
The behavioral aspects of CBT focus on building tools, such as breathing retraining, behavioral plans for increasing affect regulation, as well as exposure to anxiety in order to increase one's tolerance to anxiety. One of the most important aspects of anxiety treatment is that we are able to change our relationship to anxiety, from something that is feared and must be gotten rid of, to something that is understood as natural, inevitable, but not horrible, but something we can overcome. Parents learn how as they're trying to help their children, they may be inadvertently reinforcing avoidance, which strengthens anxiety. We'll learn techniques for helping your child to face and overcome their fears.
If you've never done CBT, you might think of therapy as just recounting the week, there therapist just playing with your child, and saying see you next week, or them just having someone to talk to. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is goal directed, focusing on helping your child change their life for the better, and learn tools and exercises to shift their thinking, and creating lasting change quickly, so that they are able to end therapy and you and your child will not have to keep coming back.
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