Cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt), a research-supported type of psychotherapy, is commonly used to treat social anxiety disorder. Cbt teaches you different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to situations to help you feel less anxious and fearful. Cbt also can help you learn and practice social skills, which is very important for treating social anxiety disorder. Cbt has been well studied and is the gold standard for psychotherapy. Exposure therapy is a cbt method that focuses on progressively confronting the fears underlying an anxiety disorder to help you engage in activities you have been avoiding. Exposure therapy is sometimes used along with relaxation exercises.
Tools Used in Therapy
Tanya j. Peterson is the author of numerous anxiety self-help books, including the morning magic 5-minute journal, the mindful path through anxiety, 101 ways to help stop anxiety, the 5-minute anxiety relief journal, the mindfulness journal for anxiety, the mindfulness workbook for anxiety, and break free: acceptance and commitment therapy in 3 steps. She has also written five critically acclaimed, award-winning novels about life with mental health challenges. She delivers workshops for all ages and provides online and in-person mental health education for youth. She has shared information about creating a quality life on podcasts, summits, print and online interviews and articles, and at speaking events.
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Mindfulness can be described as maintaining contact with the present moment rather than drifting off into automatic pilot. Mindfulness allows an individual to connect with the observing self, the part that is aware of but separate from the thinking self. Mindfulness techniques often help people increase awareness of each of the five senses as well as of their thoughts and emotions. Act does not attempt to directly change or stop unwanted thoughts or feelings but instead encourages people to develop a new and compassionate relationship with those experiences. Mindfulness also increases an individual’s ability to detach from thoughts. Challenges related to painful feelings, urges, or situations are often first reduced and then eventually accepted.
Act is not a specific set of techniques however there are 6 core principles that are thought to help develop psychological flexibility. 1. Cognitive defusion: this aspect of therapy aims to change the function of negative thoughts, emotions and memories that affect an individual. 2. Acceptance: this provides an alternative to avoiding unwanted thoughts and feelings. Embracing these without attempting to change them helps individuals to open up and implement newly learnt coping strategies 3. Contact with the present moment: this is about individuals being psychologically present, connecting with what is happening now. 4. The observing self: this focuses on a person’s attention and awareness which may include developing mindfulness skills.