Cognitive behavior therapy.. did it work for you?

I'm seeing a counselor for my general anxiety and my social anxiety. She wants to do cognitive behavior therapy and thinks I won't need to see an MD to get meds. Who has had success with this treatment?

Answers:
If the practioner is well versed in CBT it can work wonders. You must remember that while thoughts provoke behavior it is a synbiotic situtation. A number of years ago I was working with a teenager who felt he was ugly. Each day he would perform a ritual where he would compliment himself on his appearance. Within six months he began to feel more at ease and the last time I saw him some six years ago he was doing very well. CBT takes time and it takes aprofessional who knows what he or she is doing.

I am on meds for bipolar disorder and in cognitive behavior therapy. I don't think the therapy is doing me much good, however, I think that is because of the biological nature of my disorder. Most anxiety disorders can be treated without medication. I know a few people with anxiety disorders, but they don't think the medication is doing them any good at all. I suggest you start with the therapy and evaluate your progress in a month or two. That will give you an indication of how it will work for you.

Also, keep in mind that medications sometimes have bad side effects. In my case, my medications have caused heartburn, vision changes, menstral changes and other issues. I have continued to take some of the medications because I tend to be very unstable without them. If you anxiety is mild or moderate, you may find that you are not willing to suffer the side effects of the medications.
In cognitive therapy, they only focus on behaviour. It can help with changing your behaviour superficially, but it doesn't give you any insight at all. I tried cognitive therapy a long time ago for anger management. It helped a little bit. I definitely think the guy was over paid though. People are very complicated. I feel real change only comes from insight and life experience. I don't mean to discourage you from trying this, because it might be good for a start.
Find out how much experience she has with CBT and if she's also comfortable with other forms of therapy as well. If not, or if she's not licensed, I'd suggest finding a therapist that is. CBT alone could just focus on controlling your anxiety and not on helping you understand why you get anxious in the first place. Understanding and coping skills are most effective.

Drugs have side effects and many of the ones for anxiety are addictive. Therapy (or therapy and meds) is a much better approach for anxiety issues.
I suffer from panic and anxiety disorder. I tried the connitive therapy and sadly it wasn't enough. I now take medication for them.

I would def. try cognitive therapy before trying meds.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an action-oriented form of psychosocial therapy that assumes that maladaptive, or faulty, thinking patterns cause maladaptive behavior and "negative" emotions. (Maladaptive behavior is behavior that is counter-productive or interferes with everyday living.) The treatment focuses on changing an individual's thoughts (cognitive patterns) in order to change his or her behavior and emotional state.
I did *not* have luck w/ such therapy. After getting more ****-eyed crazy through the years I *Finally* got the help I needed w/ a psychiatrist. *Not* a psychologist. Meds were the answer.

My penny. run to the phone book & make an appt. w/ an actual PSYCHIATRIST. Life's waaaay to short to waste & miss half of it.

Best of luck!
My brother had success with it. He went for four sessions then he said he didn't need it anymore. I would like to try it.
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