Cognitive therapy works by partnering with a therapist to figure out how your current thoughts are contributing to your feelings of anxiety and perhaps depression. These thoughts are then labeled and used to create an action plan to overcome them. By going through this process, a great deal of control is gained by the patient as old, negative beliefs are replaced with positive, more accurate beliefs.

It's interesting to note that negative thoughts carried around by most people suffering from anxiety and depression did not originate within them. They were usually placed there years ago through an abusive relationship of some sort. Many people may not have realized any type of abuse happened because it was mental rather than physical in nature. During an anxiety cognitive therapy session, you and your therapist will decipher these thoughts and work to change them.

How Do You Know If You Suffer From Anxiety?

People who suffer from anxiety feel like they have little or no control over their emotions and tend to become stressed easily. Although there are several specific types of anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder is the most common and it seems to affect more women than men. Sufferers are fearful and worry about anything and everything. They may even wonder why they're anxious because there's nothing rational to be worried about... they simply cannot help it.

Because of the generalized nature of the disorder, it can be difficult to find the root cause of it. That's why anxiety cognitive therapy can be a good option because a therapist can assist in the discovery phase of treatment. If you experience any feeling of anxiety or depression on a regular basis, make sure to schedule a consultation with your doctor. It's possible to feel much better with the right treatment.

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Multi-Modal Therapy - Multi-modal therapy is a type of psychotherapy developed by the South African psychologist Arnold Lazarus in response to what he viewed as a disturbingly high relapse rate among anxiety disorder sufferers being treated with traditional Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) methods. Multimodal therapy is based around the acronym BASIC ID, which stands for Behavior, Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal (relationships), and Drugs, though the latter aspect includes all biological factors related to brain chemistry. It advocates eclecticism in treating patients, drawing treatments from a variety of different traditions and approaches.

Multimodal therapy takes great pains to tailor itself to the needs of the individual client, meaning that it is unsuitable for use in an anxiety group therapy setting. It can sometimes include treatments from outside what as traditionally thought of as anxiety psychotherapy, such as diet and exercise regimes where an unhealthy lifestyle is thought to be a contributing factor in the patient's psychological disorders.

Logotherapy - Logotherapy was the work of Viennese neurologist Victor Frankl. It is sometimes referred to as the "third Viennese school", following the schools of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. Where Freud focused on the "will to pleasure" and Adler on the "will to power", Frankl concentrated on what he termed the "will to meaning". His thesis was based on the notion that humankind has an ingrained desire to see order in the cosmos, and that psychological disorders are based upon the perception of cosmic disorder.

Frankl was a Holocaust survivor, and his thought was strongly influenced by his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. In the prologue of his book Man's Search for Meaning, he described how his suffering drew him to the conclusion that life has meaning even in the most appalling circumstances, and how his work came to reflect that.

In Logotherapy, treating anxiety is based around Socratic dialogue and self-observation. The treatment does not seek to attain a painless existence, rather it sees suffering as an opportunity to find meaning. Meaning can be found through achieving a quest, through experiencing love in any of its myriad forms, or simply coming to terms with suffering and accepting it as an inevitable part of life.

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy - Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was developed by Albert Ellis. It draws from the work of Asian and Classical philosophers and is based on the assumption that the human psyche contains both rational and irrational components which are often in conflict with each other. Anxiety is often caused by irrational thoughts that lead to self-destructive behaviors. REBT seeks to educate the patient and empower them to lead happier, more fulfilling lives by replacing irrational thoughts with rational ones.

If you suffer from existential anxiety, consult your doctor to see if anxiety psychotherapy may be a good treatment option for you.

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Advantages of group-based anxiety therapy include a certain level of comfort typically experienced by patients. Sometimes it makes those suffering from anxiety see that they're not alone when they're in the company of others who have similar issues. Listening to members of the group helps them realize that others share the same feelings and it can be empowering to have a group of people all working together to solve a common problem. Feelings of being an outsider, or that you are somehow inferior to others is greatly minimized when there is such a support system in place.

Another positive outcome of group therapy includes building on the experience of others who have already gone through what you're dealing with. Often the insight derived from fellow patients can be more insightful than what a therapist may come up with.

Finally, being around others in a social situation can help tremendously. And, by attending group meetings with other like-minded individuals, the setting is non-threatening. Fellow patients can open up with the others and not fear what may be thought of them. It provides a safe environment for finding solutions and setting new goals.

The major disadvantage associated with anxiety group therapy is that it's not specific to the individual needs of the patient. A standardized approach is necessary for treating an entire group and may not always meet the patient's exact needs. For some, a group setting could also allow them to blend in too much and not get the attention they need to solve their particular issues.

Ideally, a combination of individual sessions with a therapist along with group anxiety therapy is used. That way, individual issues and any medication requirements can be handled one-on-one while coping strategies and problem solving techniques can be addressed through the group sessions.

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