Best Types of Therapy Treatments for Anxiety

Anxiety, worry, nervousness, and panic can wear you out, sap your energy, and destroy relationships. But there is help available. 

Many therapies have potential for relieving stress and improving your mental health. 

Some therapists use a particular approach mainly or exclusively, while others—like myself—prefer to take an eclectic approach that utilizes a number of therapeutic methods.

Self-help books written by therapists—like myself—are a relatively inexpensive way to learn anti-anxiety tips and techniques. 

Working one-on-one with a therapist can allow for individualized care that addresses your particular needs. 

What's in This Post

If you would like to talk about working with me one-on-one for anxiety counseling, complete the contact form for a free half-hour consultation. 

Psychotherapy for Anxiety Relief 

This is a partial list of psychotherapies that may be helpful for relieving anxiety:

1. Talk Therapy is a catch-all term for a variety of words-based therapies. In its simplest form, it offers support and guidance.

2. Psychoeducation provides information and skills training.

3. Bibliotherapy uses books and workbooks (like my Becoming Calm: Silver Lining Reduce Anxiety and Increase Stress Resilience Workbook and Journal) to aid change. Therapists will often make suggestions along these lines to keep therapy going between sessions.

4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is based on the core concept that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected.

5. Psychodynamic Therapy aims to address and change the negative impact that the client’s past has on their current and future thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

6. Exposure Therapy assists clients to systematically confront objects of their fears and phobias.

7. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) uses bilateral stimulation (e.g., side-to-side eye movement) during the recall of traumatic memories to better integrate the experiences and reduce the emotional load associated with the memories.

8. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) uses light tapping or touch of acupressure points to relieve emotional distress from current and past experiences. (The therapist doesn’t touch the client. It’s more like a call and repeat sequence.)

9. Mindfulness-based Therapy utilizes mindfulness and meditative practices as change agents.

10. Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis specifically for therapeutic purposes. It helps you relax, much like in guided meditation or visualization, or yoga relaxation techniques. It gets past the busy conscious mind and accesses your subconscious to undo harm from experiences, reinforce new ways of being, and affect positive change. (I find hypnotherapy as a great piece in healing-anxiety puzzle. My Discover Calm Anti-Anxiety Hypnosis is available as an mp3 downloadable recording.)

11. Integrative Medicine for Mental Health looks at both the body and mind. It integrates psychological theories together with knowledge about how physical processes, nutrition, and lifestyle impact mood. (I have a certificate in Integrative Medicine for Mental Health and spent four years researching and writing about natural remedies for anxiety. The results are in my book Feed Your Calm: Anti-Anxiety Anti-Stress Diet and Supplement Tips for Stress Resilience .)

Adjunct Therapies for Anxiety Relief

Other therapies that can help relieve stress and anxiety include:

• acupuncture,
• massage therapy, and
• biofeedback.

Anxiety Books and Resources 

I've learned a lot from a life time of dealing with my own anxiety and decades of helping clients reduce PTSD, OCD, anxiety, panic, phobias, and fears, and increase their ability to deal with stress.

Here are some of the anti-anxiety books and recordings I've created to offer that learning to more people.

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