Cognitive Therapy[1]

Rather than expecting patients to embrace therapy, cognitive therapists often encourage patients to use the power of the mind to reason through the fear. First tried on a large scale in the 1980s, cognitive therapy teaches people who are anxious or depressed to reconfigure their worldview and to develop a more realistic perspective of the risks or obstacles that concern them.

Patients who suffer from social-anxiety disorder, for instance, might see a group of people whispering, and assume the whispering concerns them. A cognitive therapist would teach them to view the situation differently by rethinking and examining their assumption.

Some behavioral therapists question cognitive techniques, arguing, with some justification, that a brain that was so receptive to reason would not be all that anxious to begin with. Cognitive therapists argue that, though some have started to incorporate behavior modification techniques into their treatment.

If you want further information and assistance, please check our related topics. Also, you can contact a GHE HealthCare, Inc. counselor via our Call Center toll free at

1(866)-443-3277.

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[1] “The Science of Anxiety” Time, June 10, ’02 46