How do we assess your anxiety?
Our first session together will be an ‘Assessment Session’. This session will typically follow up a complimentary phone consultation we’ll have to assess your suitability to CBT Therapy & Coaching.
During your first session with me, we talk about your Anxiety.
We look at:
1. HOW the anxiety presents itself;
2. WHEN it typically shows;
3. WHERE (at work, in social situations);
4. WITH WHOM (key persons present- a new date, CEO, Manager etc);
5. WHY.
Next, we look at:
What do you do to maintain the anxiety?
You will have developed something called ‘safety behaviors’ to cope with your Anxiety.
The most typical safety behaviours are:
1. Avoidance;
2. And Escape.
While these behaviors may diffuse your Anxiety levels temporarily, they cause more damage to you in the long run.
Next, we look at:
1. Recent situation (or situations) during which you felt high levels of Anxiety;
2. Cognitions (Thoughts) associated with that event;
3. Feelings you felt;
4. Body sensations you experienced;
5. And consequent behaviours (actions) you did as a result of your Anxiety.
Our first session is a very important step towards understanding your Anxiety spiral, creating a treatment plan together and setting goals.
Further articles you may like:
Social Anxiety And Avoidance
Let's take a look at what avoidance is: Avoidance is a type of behaviour that helps us deal with uncomfortable or scary situations. While it's mostly observed in Social Anxiety sufferers, this type of behaviour is also common in Health Anxiety, GAD, OCD and many [...]
4 tips on how to get good nights’ sleep when you suffer from Anxiety
Picture this: You come home after a long, hard day at work and you're looking forward to getting a good night's sleep. But as soon as you lie down, your mind starts to worry, wonder and overthink events to come and situations you're facing. You're lying there in [...]
Blogging your way through Anxiety
Blogging can be extremely beneficial when you suffer from Anxiety and Stress. I have been blogging for over 10 years, detailing my journey as a single mum, a therapist and life's ups and downs. There's nothing better than going through those pages, looking at how I navigated difficult [...]
Powerful Communication Styles That Get Us What We Want
How would you describe your communication skills? Would you say you're a chatterbox, you're quiet, somewhere in between? Until we become 'aware' of HOW we communicate, we tend to look at communication as means of getting what we want. In simplest terms, when we say something, we have a GOAL in mind. At [...]
How To Readjust To Life After Lockdown When You Have Social Anxiety
It's summer 2021 and we can finally look forward to easing of tough Coronavirus restrictions after a long, hard Covid pandemic. We can now do things we took for granted before Pandemic. But the easing of the restrictions isn't exciting for everyone - for those with social anxiety, life [...]
Best therapy for Social Anxiety
People with social anxiety often wonder what help to get for their problems, and what is the best therapy for Social Anxiety. With such heavily saturated market of so-called ‘quick therapies’, which ones work and which don’t? Well, I will be honest with you: As a Psychotherapist specializing in [...]