How To Make The Most Of Therapy
Trying to make a change can be a challenge. Being in therapy for anxiety is no exception. However, if you are persistent, you should see improvement.
Here are a few ways to make the most of your therapyand actually see some results:
- Don’t pretend to be OK
- Tell your therapist anything and everything
- Do the work outside your sessions
- Focus on your goals
- Make sure you have a social support system
- Reduce stress in your life that makes your anxiety worse
In this way, you can see that putting in an effort and being present throughout the therapy process will have the biggest impact on how well it works for you.
What If Ive Already Tried Therapy And It Didnt Work
Sometimes therapy doesnt help right away. Even in an ideal therapy situation, it can take time for symptoms to improve. Going to therapy and seeing no change may cause frustration. It may seem like a waste of time and money. Many people stop going to therapy as a result.
Sometimes therapy doesnt help right away. Even in an ideal therapy situation, it can take time for symptoms to improve.
Other factors can impact how effective therapy is. There is no single, correct approach that works for everyone. Not every therapist will work for everyone, either. Having a negative experience with a particular therapist or a certain type of treatment can make it hard to try therapy again, even if you want support.
It can help to look for a therapist who treats what youre experiencing. If you dont have a diagnosis, you can talk to potential therapists about your symptoms. An ethical therapist will let you know if theyre able to treat your concern. If they cant, they may be able to recommend someone who can.
Keep in mind different approaches may be better for different issues. Being misdiagnosed can affect how treatment works. If you didnt feel heard in therapy before, or if you experience different symptoms, a different therapist might be a better fit for you.
Reframe Your Thought Process
Anxiety is a response to perceived danger. Your perception of danger comes from your thoughts. One negative thought leads to another, and it all gets out of proportion. Therapy for anxiety teaches you to rewire your thoughts.
Rather than obsess over your perceived fear to the point of frustration, you redirect your mind. Your therapist will work with you to identify negative thoughts and see that they are not always realistic. That way, the next time you feel anxious, you will confront your thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
Recommended Reading: Does Therapy Work For Anxiety
Which Type Of Therapist Is Best For Anxiety
Generally, talk therapy is the best place to start for anxiety versus medication as talk therapy is less invasive, without the side effects of medication.
Especially if your anxiety is not severe, youll likely find relief by attending talk therapy sessions on a regular basis, and may never need medication.
Understanding your therapists training, experience, and specialization is far more important than deciding between working with a psychologist, therapist, psychotherapist, or counselor.
General therapists are often broadly trained. They have experience in a wide-range of topics: relationships, trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, grief, and addiction. And many of these therapists see a wide-range of clients throughout their entire careers. General therapists are great for people who are experiencing general stress around life transitions.
For people who have a specific issue they want to address, like anxiety, it makes more sense to find a therapist who specializes in it.
A therapist specializing in anxiety spends all day seeing clients dealing with very similar issues as you. They will also have very specialized, up-to-date training on the treatment of anxiety treatment and are aware of the latest research findings on the topic. In short, they spend most of their time understanding the subtilties of anxiety.
Getting Started With A Mental Health Professional
Finding the right mental health professional and the right approach to therapy is as important as finding the right medical doctor. Whether you are planning to see a psychologist or a psychiatrist or another type of mental health professional, you should start with a phone call to the professional. Ask about the professionalââ¬â¢s approach to dealing with mental issues and how they generally workà with clients. Ask about whether or not they acceptà insurance and how payments are handled. You might describe your reason for wanting to make an appointment and ask if they are experienced in dealing with such issues. If you are comfortable talking with them, the next step is to make an appointment.
At your first office visit, the mental health professional will want to talk with you about why you think you need to come to therapy. They will want to know about what your symptoms are, how long you’ve had them and what, if anything, you’ve done about them in the past. They will probably ask you about your family and your work as well as what you do to relax. This initial conversation is important in developing the appropriate approach to treatment. Before you leave the office, the mental health professional should describe to you the plan for treatment and give you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have.
Show Sources
Don’t Miss: How So You Know If You Have Anxiety
The Difference Between Counseling And Psychotherapy
Although the terms counseling and therapy are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between psychotherapy and psychological counseling. Counseling focuses on specific issues and is designed to help a person address a particular problem, such as addiction or stress management. The focus may be on problem solving or on learning specific techniques for coping with or avoiding problem areas. Counseling is also usually more short-term than therapy.
Psychotherapy is more long-term than counseling and focuses on a broader range of issues. The underlying principle is that a person’s patterns of thinking and behavior affect the way that person interacts with the world. Depending on the specific type of psychotherapy that is being used, the goal is to help people feel better equipped to manage stress, understand patterns in their behavior that may interfere with reaching personal goals, have more satisfying relationships, and better regulate their thinking and emotional responses to stressful situations. If someone has a form of mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or an anxiety disorder, psychotherapy also addresses ways in which the illnesses affects their daily life, focuses on how to best understand the illness and manage its symptoms and follow medical recommendations.
Point Out Your Triggers
Identifying the cause of your anxiety attacks can be difficult to do on your own. When it strikes, it overwhelms you. At that moment, you cannot think logically and identify the trigger.
A licensed therapist knows how to point out the root cause of your anxiety. They may do this by looking close enough, reviewing your past, and simulating real-life situations. Exploring the circumstances around the feelings of anxiety can help you make the necessary changes to your life.
Also Check: How To Stop Worrying About Anxiety
How Can You Find The Right Therapist
Because the quality of the relationship between you and your mental health provider can significantly influence the effectiveness of your treatment, finding a good match is important. Here are a few tips to help you find a new therapist:
- Search for a new therapist online. Google search results can help you find the top psychologists in your area for treating anxiety. The American Psychological Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness also offer search engines to find mental health professionals.
- Check with your insurance provider. Therapy is expensive in the United States. If youre not sure how to find affordable therapy, ask your primary care physician for an in-network referral. Many insurance companies also offer a psychologist locator for in-network psychologists with lower deductibles. If youre uninsured, many community mental health clinics offer free or low-cost therapy. Additionally, many private practice therapists offer more affordable options for uninsured patients.
- Schedule a few initial consultations. Scheduling a few initial phone calls or first sessions can help you find a good fit. During a first appointment, youll be able to ask about hours, fees, and location, and get a feel for the therapist.
We know that anxiety can feel overwhelming, and it can hinder you from living the life you want. One of the experts on the WithTherapy platform can help you manage the symptoms of anxiety, find strength, and reach your mental health goals.
How Long Will Therapy Be Needed
Research indicates that 50 percent of patients recover within 20 sessions, which commonly take place at weekly intervals. As with drug therapy, patients fare best when therapy is continued for a period beyond symptom remission. There are three goals of psychotherapy. The first is responsean improvement in symptoms. Patients may begin to experience improvement within a few sessions. The second is remissiondisappearance of all symptoms and a return to healthy functioning in all domains of life. There may be a temptation to stop therapy at this point, but the consensus of experts is that treatment should continue at least six months after disappearance of symptoms to ensure recovery and to maintain the ability to handle the stresses of daily life. Studies repeatedly show that completing a full course of therapy is critical for full recovery.
Recommended Reading: Does Anxiety Cause Shaky Hands
Your Physical Health Is Suffering
When your mental health suffers, your physical health suffers, too. Research has shown that chronic stress and anxiety can manifest in a wide range of physical conditions. This includes nausea, headaches, and frequent colds. Unexplained muscle painespecially neck painis also a sign of anxiety.
If youre suffering from any of these health conditions, you could benefit from treatment from a trained anxiety therapist. Its also important to ask your primary care physician for medical advice to rule out any underlying physical conditions.
Youve Experienced Panic Or Anxiety Attacks
It sounds really obvious to say that you should see a therapist if youve had a panic or anxiety attack. But listen: many people experience something like this, and they try to ignore it instead of dealing with it, which definitely isnt the answer. Thomas explains, Panic attacks are very scary and people often think they are actually dying when they begin experiencing attacks for the first time. Anxiety attacks can feel like an out-of-body experience and many people end up in the emergency room because the experience feels so out of control. Having panic attacks should serve as a motivator to find a therapist right away. Life has become so overwhelming, the body doesnt know what to do with the excess stress.
If you go through an attack like this, dont feel embarrassed or blow it off like its nothingseek help. Youll thank yourself later.
You May Like: How To Fall Asleep With Anxiety And Insomnia
Recommended Reading: Will Weed Help My Anxiety
Should I Go To The Doctor About Anxiety
A question people ask me a lot is:
âShould I go to the doctor about my anxiety?â
Asking yourself this question is common. Why? Because there is a tonne of stuff to think about when deciding to go to the doctor or not. And, as a worrier, you are going to obsess over these reasons more than most.
In this guide, I will take you through all of the pros and cons of going to see your doctor about your anxiety.
Read Also: How To Stop Depression And Anxiety
How To Make Anxiety Counseling Work For You
The first step to manage anxiety is to find a therapist however, its also extremely important to maximize your time and efforts once youre in anxiety therapy. Getting the most out of therapy includes being ready to step outside of your comfort zone, making sure that youre regularly completing and engaging with your homework between sessions, and communicating to your therapist what is and isnt working.
Continuing to stay engaged throughout the process is important. It not only ensures that youre not in anxiety therapy longer than you need to be, but it also ensures that the skills youre learning stay with you for the rest of your life and prevent anxious thoughts and feelings from taking over in the future.
Recommended Reading: How To Relieve Anxiety Attack
Why Is It Important To Seek Treatment Quickly
Therapy should be started as soon as a diagnosis of anxiety is rendered. The longer anxiety goes untreated, the more difficult it becomes to treat. Early treatment is essential because disorders such as anxiety can change the brain, altering the reactivity of various brain structures, promoting readiness to detect and respond to potential threats, and changing the neural circuits such threat and alarms utilize. Research shows that anxiety is also linked to inflammatory changes in the brain, and panic disorder can exacerbate inflammatory activation. In fact the high levels of inflammatory changes are believed to be the link between anxiety disorders and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
There is evidence that the inflammation involved in anxiety can, over time, contribute to neurodegeneration and, in a vicious cycle, accelerate pathologic changes in the brain that make future recovery more elusive. Therapy helps patients develop the skills not just to beat back a current bout of anxiety but to prevent future ones as well. Early treatment has the highest likelihood of bringing about full remission of symptoms.
Treating Children And Adolescents
Whereas specific phobias, SAD, and separation anxiety disorder are common in younger people, PDA and GAD are relatively rare. There are some randomized, placebo-controlled studies of pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents showing efficacy of sertraline, fluoxetine, and duloxetine in young patients with GAD, of venlafaxine and paroxetine in SAD, and of sertraline, fluvoxamine, and fluoxetine in mixed samples, including patients with separation anxiety disorder, GAD, and SAD.88 However, little is known about the value of long-term treatment.89 The combination of CBT and sertraline was found to be more effective than both treatment modalities alone.90
For children and youths with separation anxiety disorder, several treatment studies exist.95 However, no controlled studies on the treatment of adults with this disorder could be traced.
There is also a paucity of treatment studies for children with selective mutism. Small studies have shown that psychotherapeutic approaches were at least better than waitlist controls.96,97 One review indicated that only two very small placebo-controlled drug studies showed efficacy of the SSRIs fluoxetine and sertraline.98
Also Check: How To Stop Anxiety After Drinking Alcohol
When To Get Help For Anxiety
If you think you have anxiety, there is never a bad time to reach out for help. Below are some signs it might be time to seek professional help for anxiety:
- You have thoughts that feel scary or out of control
- Anxiety is negatively impacting relationships you care about
- You feel like you cant be in public or around other people
- You are having trouble sleeping
- Anxiety makes it hard to do daily tasks like eating, cleaning, going to work, or child care
- You are thinking about hurting yourself
You May Like: Is Magnesium Good For Anxiety
Comparing Cbt To Act To Dbt To Schema Therapy
Above are some of the best therapies that are useful for anxiety. As you can see, they are all quite different. Depending on the therapist you see, they may use a combination of these therapies to help with your anxiety symptoms. Often it is useful to understand what caused the symptoms, and then create a plan of how to manage and reduce them, and a therapist will help you do this.
Different people will respond better to different therapiesfor example, if you enjoy talking about the past and analyzing behavior and situations, you may prefer Schema Therapy, whereas if you are more practical and physical, DBT might be better for you. Licensed therapists are trained in most of these therapies, so they can work with you to choose the type of therapy that will be the most effective for you.
You May Like: How To Get Over Flying Anxiety
Types Of Anxiety Disorders
If you experience intense, persistent, and excessive anxiety, you may have a diagnosable anxiety disorder. The most common types of anxiety disorders include:
If you think you might have an anxiety disorder, its essential to seek professional help. Before youre officially diagnosed with clinical anxiety, your psychologist or clinician will administer a diagnostic interview to determine whether you meet the diagnostic criteria outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . DSM-5 diagnostic criteria include feeling excessive anxiety more often than not and experiencing other anxiety symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, and nausea.
Why Is It Important To Seek Help
Anxiety can severely impact the quality of your life. Although everyone feels anxious from time to time, extreme emotions are draining. You might not sleep or eat well. Your productivity at work and your relationships may be affected. Seeking help from a licensed therapist is advisable. It equips you to anticipate and cope with anxiety. A professional who understands anxiety uses the right tools and techniques to help you overcome it.
Recommended Reading: Can Anxiety Cause Night Sweats
Choosing The Right Anxiety Therapy
You may find it difficult to decide which of these therapies will work best for you. After all, you’ve only had a brief introduction to each type of anxiety therapy. Still, you have to start somewhere. You can begin by asking yourself a few questions:
- How urgent are my anxiety issues?
- Do I have limited time and money for therapy?
- Do I want to work out specific anxiety issues or deal with general patterns of anxiety?
- Do I feel comfortable discussing my problems one-on-one or in a group?
- Would my life be easier to manage if I had more skills to rely on?
- Do I have more confidence in talk therapies or mind-body therapies?
- Which type of therapy sparks my interest most?
With so many options available, you may have to use a trial-and-error process to find out what works best for you. That said, unless you commit to staying in treatment long enough to see results, you won’t know whether the therapy you’ve tried has had a chance to work. If you’re trying multiple approaches, be sure to give each one enough time. Also, you’ll need to trust that your therapist will choose the approach that works best for you based on your responsiveness and progress in previous sessions. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right professional to support you.