Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been increasingly gaining acclaim and recognition as one of the most effective forms of treatment for anxiety disorders. There are countless studies demonstrating its effectiveness as a stand-alone treatment, or in conjunction with medication management, making it one of the most research-supported treatments.
CBT is designed to teach you how to identify repetitious errors in thinking, examine and analyze their validity (often discovered to be unfounded), and provide the tools to modify and change your thinking. Learning to control and combat negative irrational beliefs about yourself, and others, allows your brain to start working for you, rather than against you. When we learn how to modify our thinking to be more accurate, we can also eliminate many unwarranted feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, etc. Because beliefs lie at the root of many people’s behaviors and feelings, this is a critical component to master. Given the complexity of both understanding and applying this method in practice, it is wise to utilize the training and guidance of your therapist in the process of identifying distortions of thought, analyzing the accuracy of beliefs, and learning to modify and change cognitive styles of thinking.
Anxiety disorders that greatly benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) include:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Simple Phobias
Our staff at IPC are all trained and highly skilled in the use of CBT and will be able to tailor its use to your particular anxiety issues, help you identify themes and patterns in your thinking, and learn how to challenge and control your thoughts.