Anxiety Counselling
The purpose of anxiety counseling or anxiety therapy is, in simple terms, to change the way you think and react to situations. Anxious thinking or thought patterns usually focus on the likelihood of serious threat/ danger and the inability to cope, personal helplessness, and vulnerability. We want to change this way of thinking to a more normalized or more helpful thought process, through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This involves focusing on a more realistic likelihood of various outcomes, and on the ability to cope and problem-solve challenging circumstances. By changing the way you think, we are able to also eliminate the physical symptoms associated with your anxiety.
Some anxiety symptoms include:
– constantly tense, worried, or on edge
– interfere with your work, school, or family responsibilities
– distraught by fears that you know are irrational, but cannot get rid of
– believe that something bad will happen if certain things are not done a certain way
– avoid everyday situations or activities because they cause you anxiety
– experience sudden, unexpected attacks of heart-pounding panic
– always worried about the possibility of danger and catastrophe
In anxiety counselling, we will work to normalize your thoughts, reduce fear, dispute irrational thoughts and unhelpful thinking styles, develop alternative perspectives, and form relaxation techniques to help you cope with daily life and common stressors.
Your first session involves initial assessment of your well being and a thorough intake of your personal history and background. Subsequent therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length, and are unique to each individual treatment plan.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a prolonged, complex emotional state that occurs when a person anticipates that some future situation or event may involve a personally distressing, unpredictable, and uncontrollable threat to their well being. Anxiety can be present in a variety of forms and diagnoses, some of the most common being: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social anxiety, social phobias, and specific phobias.
Typically, there is a general process that can help us understand why you are feeling anxious. It is important to learn about your anxiety and the process that provokes these anxious feelings, so that you can begin to develop coping mechanisms, or ways to avoid this unwanted feeling.
Anxiety Counselling in Etobicoke & Toronto
Anxiety counselling services offered at Balanced Mind and Wellness Inc. include: anxiety therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), counselling for anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder counselling, panic disorder counselling, social anxiety counselling, and social phobia counselling.