Therapy

Last Modified 2009-10-03 15:37:39

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Therapies

C.B.T. (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

C.B.T. is an acronym for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This is a therapy that can modify or eliminate thought patterns contributing to the patient's symptoms, and aims to help the patient to change his or her behaviour.

In simple terms it is used to change a person's thoughts and feelings from negative ones to positive ones.

Patients are taught that typical thoughts such as "I'm going to have a panic attack" or "I'm going to have a heart attack" can be replaced with substitutes such as "It's only uneasiness-it will pass", "I am not going to die" and "I can overcome this".

You are taught to replace phrases such as "I suffer from Panic Attacks" with "I used to suffer from Panic Attacks but I am ok now". In cognitive therapy, discussions between the patient and the therapist are not usually focused on the patient's past, as is the case with some forms of psychotherapy. Instead, conversations focus on the difficulties and successes the patient is having at the present time, and on skills the patient needs to learn.

The behavioural portion of cognitive-behavioural therapy may involve systematic training in relaxation techniques. By learning to relax, the patient may acquire the ability to reduce generalized anxiety and stress that often sets the stage for panic attacks.

Breathing exercises are often included in the behavioural therapy. The patient learns to control his or her breathing and avoid hyperventilation-a pattern of rapid, shallow breathing that can trigger or exacerbate some people's panic attacks.

Another important aspect of behavioural therapy is exposure to internal sensations called interoceptive exposure. During interoceptive exposure the therapist will do an individual assessment of internal sensations associated with panic. Depending on the assessment, the therapist may then encourage the patient to bring on some of the sensations of a panic attack by, for example, exercising to increase heart rate, breathing rapidly to trigger lightheadedness and respiratory symptoms, or spinning around to trigger dizziness. Exercises to produce feelings of unreality may also be used. Then the therapist teaches the patient to cope effectively with these sensations and to replace alarmist thoughts such as "I am going to die," with more appropriate ones, such as "It's just a little dizziness-I can handle it."

Another important aspect of behavioural therapy is "in vivo" or real-life exposure. The therapist and the patient determine whether the patient has been avoiding particular places and situations, and which patterns of avoidance are causing the patient problems. They agree to work on the avoidance behaviours that are most seriously interfering with the patient's life. For example, fear of driving may be of paramount importance for one patient, while inability to go to the supermarket may be most handicapping for another.

Some therapists will go to an agoraphobic patient's home to conduct the initial sessions. Oftentherapists take their patients on excursions to shopping malls and other places the patients havebeen avoiding. Or they may accompany their patients who are trying to overcome fear of driving acar.

The patient approaches a feared situation gradually, attempting to stay in spite of risinglevels of anxiety. In this way the patient sees that as frightening as the feelings are, they arenot dangerous, and they do pass. On each attempt, the patient faces as much fear as he or she canstand. Patients find that with this step-by-step approach, aided by encouragement and skilledadvice from the therapist, they can gradually master their fears and enter situations that hadseemed unapproachable.

Many therapists assign the patient "homework" to do between sessions. Sometimes patients spendonly a few sessions in one-on-one contact with a therapist and continue to work on their own withthe aid of a printed manual.

Often the patient will join a therapy group with others striving to overcome panic disorder orphobias, meeting with them weekly to discuss progress, exchange encouragement, and receive guidancefrom the therapist.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy generally requires at least 8 to 12 weeks. Some people may need alonger time in treatment to learn and implement the skills. This kind of therapy, which is reportedto have a low relapse rate, is effective in eliminating panic attacks or reducing their frequency.It also reduces anticipatory anxiety and the avoidance of feared situations.

Here is another description of CBT that I found:

If we are serious about overcoming an anxiety disorder, we need to approach anxiety fromevery positive angle and perspective that we have available to us. Therefore, we focus onthree main areas, all three of which must be addressed in therapy:

1. COGNITIVE

(thinking processes)

Here we learn new methods and ways to change our old thinking patterns and habits. If we'realways thinking and expecting the worst, then we will continue to suffer. We train or condition ourminds to think and respond differently than we have in the past. Or think of it this way - if wecan be conditioned to think and feel negatively, then we can be reconditioned to thinkhealthfully.

We have dozens of specific methods and techniques that we use -- and you only need to findseveral methods that work well for you. We usually start CBT (cognitive-behavioural therapy) atthis stage.

Some effective techniques are:

Slow-talk/slow walk/slowing down
Stopping automatic negative thinking (ANTs)
The acceptance paradox: how we keep the fires burning and how to put them out
Rational and helpful self-statements that can become permanent and "automatic"
Continuing to move our self-statements up
Whose voice are you listening to, anyhow? Do we have to listen and believe all those old lies?
The determination factor
Focusing: What are you paying attention to?
- perfectionism, anger, frustration, setbacks, and our view of the world

2. BEHAVIOURAL

(what we do)

The behavioural aspect of therapy is the part where we actually put everything into place ineveryday, real-life situations where we are bothered by anxiety and depression.

This area is always handled LAST, because we need a strong foundation of cognitive andemotional skills/strategies so that we can begin living and acting differently before we confrontreal-life challenges.

This stage is essential for people with some of the anxiety problems (such as socialanxiety disorder) and serves as a powerful adjunct to individual treatment for others.

3. EMOTIONAL

(relaxation/peaceful/strength and power strategies)

It is important to have some type of relaxation or "de-stress" strategy that is accessible. Inthis area, calmness and peace are the goals.

The more your brain is quiet and relaxed, the easier therapeutic information can get intoit and be processed. This is simply another way to let the therapy reach your brain and gentlysink in.

Our focus is on peace and calmness here. We do not focus on decreasing anxiety by using thesemethods. Why? As peace and calmness become a little stronger, they tend to "crowd" out theanxieties and fears we have. Therefore, we never need to focus on the anxiety, the nervousness, orthe fear. Our focus is on healing, healthiness, and inner peace.

Links

http://www.eabct.com - The EuropeanAssociation for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy (EABCT) is an umbrella organisation that bringstogether a large number of individual associations from 29 European countries. This websiteprovides information on the individual member associations of EABCT and the activities that supportthem - our constitution, board of directors, congress and newsletter.

http://www.babcp.org.uk - The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) wasfounded in 1972 as an interest group for people involved in the practice and theory of behaviourtherapy.

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)

Written by Joan Callaghan (NLP Practitioner)

What is NLP?

You could think of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as an owner's manual for the humanbrain. It's the study of how we think, feel and act, marked by an intense curiosity about how(rather than why) human beings get the results they do.

NLP is a fairly recent development, originating at the University of Santa Cruz in themid-seventies when a group of talented people led by Richard Bandler and John Grinder came togetherto share information and insights across disciplinary boundaries. It incorporates insights frombehavioural and Gestalt psychology, family therapy, hypnotherapy, linguistics, information theoryand anthropology, among many other disciplines.

Neuro - the nervous system - the mind and the sensory organs with which wereceive and filter information through our five senses.

Linguistic - the way we communicate and interpret experience through language, includingbody language, image, sounds, feelings, tastes and smells

Programming - the way we construct personal programs of thought, communicationand behaviour

It has been defined as - "The ability to master your own states by running your own brain"(Richard Bandler).

Some principles of NLP:

People have their own model of the world, and what they do makes sense within that model
Mind and body are one system
People have all the inner resources they need to succeed(there are no un-resourceful people, only un-resourceful states)
There is no failure, only results
I am in charge of my mind, and therefore my results

What can it do?

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) works from the principle that people aren't broken - theydon't need fixing, and they already have all the resources they need. In fact they are excellent atgetting the results they are currently getting - you have probably become expert at having panicattacks over the years, and have streamlined the process right down until you can do it reallywell!So find out how you do it by asking yourself: what are the triggers? or, what happens immediatelybefore you start 'doing' the panic attack? And what goes through your mind next? The chances arethat you are having to run through the same sequence of thoughts, images, feelings and tellingyourself things each time in order for the attack to happen. This is your 'strategy' for having theattack. (You may be doing parts of the strategy unconsciously, or it may happen so fast that youhave not been aware of the sequence - until now.) If you change any step in the strategy, you willprobably get a different result. Change what you tell yourself to something positive! Make positivemental pictures instead of scary ones!

Treatments

There are many techniques used in NLP for use with Anxiety Disorders, Phobias andDepressions. An therapist with Time Line Therapy and TFT (Thought Field Therapy)experience would be excellent and will be of enormous benefit to sufferers.

Some of the best techniques are - "The Fast Phobia Cure" (V/K dissociation), Swish Technique,Anchors, and Reframing although there are many more. Some of the Time Line Therapyand TFT methods are especially good for "one off" occasions, like "extra stressors" (Christmas,dental visits, shopping outings etc).

Where can we find a therapist?

http://inlpta.co.uk

http://www.camtherapy.co.uk/therapies/neurolinguistic.html

I have used NLP disassociation techniques and Time Line Therapy to help me to overcome variousanxiety producing obstacles. Most of the time, because of repeated actions - this hasgiven me 'full time relief'. It has only been when I have not practiced thetechniques - when I though I was OK - that stressors affected me again. I am going todo the Master Practitioner course in the summer this year and so will be rid of the feeling onceand for all - very powerful stuff!

E.F.T.

Written by Gary Craig (emofree.com)

E.F.T. is an acronym for "Emotional Freedom Techniques" and has been clinically effective inthousands of cases for Trauma & Abuse, Stress & Anxiety, Fears & Phobias, Depression,Addicitve Cravings, Children's Issues and hundreds of physical symptoms including headaches, bodypains and breathing difficulties. Properly applied, over 80% achieve either noticeable improvementor complete cessation of the problem. It is the missing piece to the healing puzzle.

We are still learning why EFT works so well. It centers around the profound effects of thebody's subtle energies using the theory that "the cause of all negative emotions is adisruption in the body's energy system." Accordingly, EFT is an emotional form of acupunctureexcept that we don't use needles. Instead, we tap with the fingertips to stimulate certainmeridian energy points while the client is "tuned in" to the problem.

The subtle energies that circulate throughout the body have been largely ignored (untilrecently) by western scientists. As a result, our use of them for emotional and spiritual healinghas been sparse at best. With EFT, however, we consider these subtle energies to be the frontrunning cause of emotional upsets. As a result, we generate results that are FAR beyond those ofconventional methods.

Further, EFT often provides relief for a very wide range of physical symptoms.

EFT is a Doorway to the new Healing High-Rise. It is where a growing number of newcomers tothis exciting field get their start. There are now have thousands of practitioners using EFTthroughout the world.

Compared to other techniques, EFT is usually quite gentle and substantial relief is oftenachieved with little or no pain. This is not true for everyone, however. Some people's issue areso intense that the mere mention of them causes emotional or physical pain. Although truly seriousinstances of this (sometimes called abreactions) is most likely to occur in seriously emotionallydamaged people (best estimate is less than 1% of the population), newcomers to EFT are advised toexercise common sense in this regard and not go where they aren't qualified.

If you are interested in reading more about this technique then visit http://www.emofree.com/tutorial.htm or you can download the full manual at http://www.emofree.com/downloadEFTmanual.htm

Other links

Take a look at this link - http://theamt.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=229