HOW CAN PSYCHOTHERAPY HELP TREAT DEPRESSION?

Depression can be treated! The most common treatments are psychotherapy and medication. A combination of these two strategies seems to be the best approach. A variety of approaches have been shown to be effective in alleviating and treating symptoms of depression.

Often, therapy starts with working to acknowledge the factors that contribute to the low mood. Some of those factors maybe longstanding and complicated, while others may be situational. Developing solutions for the situational factors will release some of the pressure and provide some relief. 

Exploring difficulties makes them easy to understand and to break into smaller obstacles. These smaller obstacles are less overwhelming—it is easier to develop strategies to overcome them. Feeling constantly discouraged can feel like an impossible hurdle. How do you switch from feeling discouraged to feeling accomplished? You start small. 

The small and simple changes will give way to targeting more challenging transformations. It will start with changing what you do and transform to changing how you think of yourself and others.

Therapy can help you find a grater sense of control over your life. It can help you find hope to develop your vision and the confidence and inspiration to accomplish it.

HOW CAN PSYCHOTHERAPY HELP TREAT ANXIETY?

Therapy is a powerful method for treating symptoms of anxiety and it targets the underlying factors that give rise to anxiety and contribute in prolonging the distress.

One highly effective approach to treating anxiety is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT focuses both on the thoughts, as well as behaviors that cause and exacerbate symptoms of anxiety disorders. The “behavioral” piece targets how our body reacts to stress and worry. The “cognitive” piece of CBT targets the beliefs and statements about ourselves. 

Anxiety is a reaction. It is how we react to worries and uncertainties in life. ​Anxiety can manifest as muscular tension, a racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, chest discomfort, sweating, or abdominal pain. The more physical discomfort we experience, the more we worry about our health and about the stressors that are affecting our health. The more we worry, the more our body reacts with more discomfort. This vicious cycle can make it difficult to feel confident and hopeful. We will practice techniques that will help you teach your body to relax. We will then identify your negative thoughts, we will find ways to challenge them, and, most importantly, we will develop new ways to think about yourself and others. We work to replace the anxiety provoking thoughts with more realistic and supportive thoughts.

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