9-Week CBT Anxiety Skills Program
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the treatment of choice for many common anxiety disorders. CBT is based on the idea that by learning to better manage the way you think about things, you can experience greater well-being, increased energy, and mental clarity. The good news is that you do not have to be in therapy for lengthy periods of time to learn the basics of CBT. In fact, because CBT is skills-based, most published studies in peer reviewed journals show treatment periods of 8-12 weeks.
If you would like a focused, skills-based CBT program designed by an expert clinical psychologist and member of the American Psychological Association, try Dr. Chloe’s 9-week CBT program for anxiety management. At your first session, your therapist will learn more about the nature of your anxiety and what you have tried before to get relief. This helps your therapist to understand how to tailor the program to suit your needs. Next, your therapist will select a technique from the menu below that will target whatever type of anxiety you’re dealing with that week, and then teach you how to use the technique right there in session.
To help you practice and master the techniques, you will get optional homework each week. After your first session, each appointment will begin with a review of the previous week’s optional homework. Your therapist will make sure you are learning the techniques properly, offer adjustments or tailor the techniques to you if necessary. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback, and learn specifically how to apply the techniques to situations you are currently facing. Each week, you will learn a new skill. At the end of the 9 week program, you will have a well stocked toolbox of proven CBT techniques for managing anxiety.
Take a look below for a brief description of the skills presented in this program:
Worry Time
Make a list of the things making you anxious, then schedule a time in your calendar devoted to worrying about everything on the list. This satisfies the part of your brain that believes these things are really important and necessary for you to be thinking about, but limits the worry time, so that you can let go afterwards and focus on other things.
Mind Mapping
around a certain issue. Examining and finding connections in the finished product will give you a better understanding of your thoughts and feelings about the issue, and allow you to move forward with self awareness.
Thought Replacement
If you have a thought that is anxiety producing but irrational, you can take deliberate steps to
replace it by coming up with a statement to specifically address and sooth the irrational thought.
Zone of Control
Dividing a broad worry into two different categories: the things we can control,
and the things we cannot control is helpful for managing anxiety. You will be able to
identify the ways in which you can take action to directly address the aspects of your
worry over which you have control, and let go of what you cannot control.
Response Prevention
This technique allows you to stop yourself from doing a compulsive behavior. By taking away the option to do the behavior, you will interrupt the cycle and free yourself up to focus on other things.
3 Part Breath
To manage the physical symptoms of anxiety (racing heart, shallow breathing), engage in this exercise. The 3 Part Breath allows you to breath deeply and mindfully, making it easier to calm down.
To-Do List with Emotions
Break down your larger goal into smaller steps you need to take to reach that goal. By thinking about which emotions come up for you in response to each of the steps, you can
plan accordingly with ways to address and sooth those feelings.
Mental Shortlist
By creating a physical list of everything you would rather be thinking about than ruminating and feeling anxious, it will be easier for you to distract yourself from obsessional thinking when it does come up.
Anchoring Statements
You can control your thoughts in order to stave off feelings of intense anxiety. This exercise involves constructing logical statements to comfort yourself when you’re feeling so overwhelmed that you begin to panic.
The order in which these skills are presented is individualized to each individual client’s needs and interests. If you would like to learn concrete skills for anxiety management, Dr. Chloe’s 9-week CBT Anxiety Skills Program is for you. The program can be completed during live in-office visits, or by videoconferencing for clients who live far away or are simply too busy for office visits. Dr. Chloe’s 9-week anxiety program gives you the choice to have structured CBT for anxiety in a time-limited, skills-based format. You don’t need to commit to ongoing therapy sessions- 9 weeks is all it takes!
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Can’t Make It for 9 Weeks in the Office?
Dr. Chloe offers many forms of e-therapy, including video sessions, and this self-guided online anxiety management tools!