Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal emotion experienced by everyone at some point and can even be helpful at low to moderate levels. With anxiety disorders, however, it becomes consuming to the person affected and can cause a great deal of distress to the person struggling with their fear and/or worry.

There are many different types of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety, agoraphobia and specific phobias.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. Anxiety disorders are estimated to affect 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Anxiety disorders are estimated to affect one in eight children.

Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only approximately one-third of those suffering receive treatment. Many consequences exist for not treating anxiety disorders including impaired functioning, low self-esteem and an increased risk for depression. Research shows that untreated children and teens with anxiety disorders are at a higher risk to: perform poorly academically, miss out on social experiences and engage in substance abuse.

Anxiety disorders can be effectively treated and managed by therapy, medication management and/or other complementary approaches including yoga, relaxation techniques or acupuncture. Many professionals suggest a combination of these approaches for holistic anxiety treatment.

Collaborative Counseling offers therapy services that have been proven to effectively treat anxiety disorders including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – CBT is a therapy that is focused on teaching coping skills and strategies for managing anxious thoughts and behaviors. This therapy focuses on teaching skills for learning to identify and manage negative thinking. It also focused on learning behavioral changes one can make to overcome their anxiety.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – DBT is focused on learning to regulate one’s emotions, improving interpersonal effectiveness, decreasing vulnerability to strong emotions and learning to take the middle path in your thoughts and behaviors.
• Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) – This therapy is focused at helping a person to process traumatic or disturbing experiences and/or thoughts to help alleviate the distress associated with those past experiences or thoughts.

For more information on our counseling services and scheduling, please contact us to schedule today.