MENTAL HEALTH

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Exercises Cures Phobias — Continued

By Sherry Baker @SherryNewsViews
 | 
November 08, 2017
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Exercises Cure Phobias — Continued

Cognitive behavior therapy exercise

Psychologist David A. Yusko, PsyD, associate director the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, helps patients suffering from all kinds of life-disrupting phobias. He says cognitive behavioral therapy can cure almost all of them.

The American Psychological Association points out cognitive behavioral therapy is an umbrella term for psychotherapy treatments and therapy exercises focusing on present reactions to circumstances and how people can change the way they think, behave, and feel to relieve their anxiety and depression.

“We really think of it as a triangle. A is affect or how you feel, B is behavior or how you act, and C is cognition or how you think; and these are all interconnected with one another,” Yusko explained.

“So, if you are feeling sad, that leads you to maybe think your life is not going so well, which leads to certain behaviors like sleeping more or isolating yourself, which ultimately makes you feel sadder; you can see the interconnected cycle there.”

What cognitive behavioral therapy is, bottom line, is a way to identify anxious thoughts, replace them with more realistic thoughts, and break the cycle causing a phobia.

 

Conclusion...

 

Updated:  

May 10, 2023

Reviewed By:  

Janet O’Dell, RN