Generalized Anxiety Treatment

Psychotherapy intervention strategies are a variety of therapy types that differ in terms of their specific techniques for facilitating people to gain an understanding of the functioning of the subconscious and conscious mind, as well as the correlation between behavior and cognition. For managing GAD, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is largely viewed as the first-line psychotherapy treatment. Most of these psychological therapies can also be provided in individual or group therapy setups. While both group and individual therapy are generally thought to be helpful for reducing GAD, individual counseling helps to promote more sustained participation in therapy.

Psychodynamic therapy

Psychodynamic therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on Freudian psychoanalysis in which a therapist helps a person discover various aspects of their subconsciousness in order to reduce conflicts that may occur between both the subconscious and conscious mind. In the case of GAD, the psychoanalytic perspective of anxiety proposes that worry is a defense mechanism used by the unconscious mind to avert feelings of frustration or hostility, which could lead to isolation or other negative self-attribution. As a result, different psychodynamic therapies seek to investigate the basis of worry in GAD in order to help clients to change their subconscious behavior of utilizing worry as a defense mechanism and, as a result, reduce GAD symptoms. A short-term version of psychotherapy known as “short-term anxiety-provoking psychotherapy” is one variant of psychotherapy (STAPP).

Behavioral therapy

Behavioral therapy is a type of treatment based on the idea that anxiety is learned by classical conditioning (for example, in response to one or more bad events) and sustained with operant conditioning (for example, one learns that ignoring a particularly provoking experience prevents anxiety). As a result, behavioral therapy allows a person to re-learn fear response (habits) and so confront behaviors that are now conditioned reactions to anxiety and fear and have formerly resulted in more maladaptive behaviors.

Cognitive therapy

Cognitive therapy (CT) is based on the assumption that anxiety is caused by unwanted thoughts and thought patterns. As a result, CT entails supporting people in identifying more reasonable patterns of thinking and substituting unhealthy thought patterns (i.e., cognitive biases) with healthy alternatives (for example, catastrophizing is a cognitive error that can be replaced with a more constructive cognitive practice.). CT students start to recognize objective data, test theories and eventually understand maladaptive thinking processes so that they can be confronted and transformed.

Acceptance and commitment therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a type of behavioral therapy that uses acceptance-based concepts. ACT was created with three restorative goals in mind: (1) reducing the use of ignoring strategies to ignore emotions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings; (2) reducing an individual’s literal reaction to their ideas (e.g., recognizing that trying to think “I’m hopeless” doesn’t really mean that the individual’s life is actually useless); and (3) growing an individual’s capacity to maintain commitments to change their behaviors. These objectives are achieved by shifting the person’s focus from trying to control events to focusing on modifying their behavior and focusing on important directions and goals in their lives, as well as dedicating to behaviors that will assist the individual to achieve those personal objectives. This psychological therapy emphasizes mindfulness (paying close attention to purpose, at the moment, and without judgment) and acceptance (responsiveness and readiness to maintain contact) techniques for dealing with uncontrollable circumstances and, as a result, generating actions that embody personal ideals.

Intolerance of uncertainty therapy

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a negative response to ambiguous and uncertain events that occur irrespective of their probability of occurring. For GAD sufferers, Intolerance of Uncertainty Therapy (IUT) is utilized as a stand-alone intervention. In order to alleviate anxiety, IUT aims at helping individuals in acquiring the ability to endure, cope with, and accept unpredictability in their lives. Psychoeducation, fear awareness, problem-solving tutoring, re-evaluation of the relevance of concern, imagining simulated exposure, appreciation of unpredictability, and behavioral exposure are all psychological elements of IUT. Studies have indicated that this medication is effective in treating GAD patients, with continuing improvements over time.

Motivational interviewing

Combining CBT with motivational interviewing (MI) is an exciting new technique to boost clinical outcomes for GAD management. Motivational interviewing is a patient-centered method aimed at increasing intrinsic drive and reducing ambivalence about treatment-related change. MI is made up of four main components: (1) showing empathy, (2) increasing incoherence between undesirable behaviors and values that are inconsistent with those behaviors, (3) using internal opposition instead of direct confrontation, and (4) boosting self-efficacy. It is premised on seeking open-ended questions and responding carefully and introspectively to clients’ responses, as well as evoking “change talk” and discussing the benefits and drawbacks of change with patients. According to certain research, combining CBT with MI is more beneficial than CBT alone.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that combines cognitive and behavioral treatment interventions and has been shown to be effective in treating GAD. The goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is to teach people how to recognize irrational beliefs that generate anxiety and how to confront them using awareness strategies like testing hypotheses and journaling. CBT incorporates a variety of intervention approaches that enable individuals to investigate tension, anxiety, and repetitive negative thought patterns since it includes the practice of worry and anxiousness management. Anxiety management education, cognitive flexibility, relaxation techniques, contextual exposure, and self-controlled desensitization are examples of these therapies

Psychological therapy can also take the form of:

• Relaxation methods (for example, meditational relaxation, relaxing imagery)
• Metacognitive therapy (MCT): The goal of MCT is to change anxiety-related thinking processes such that worry is no longer employed as a coping mechanism. It has shown promise in the treatment of GAD and other mental illnesses.
• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
• Supportive therapy is a Rogerian therapeutic approach in which clients receive compassion and appreciation from their therapist to help them become more conscious. Counseling, Transactional Analysis, and Gestalt therapy are examples of active supportive treatment.