I’m Kathy from Arrive Therapy. I thought it may be worth describing below the ‘healing matrix’ that I base my Hypno-CBT sessions on, if I am working with a client with anxiety.
These elements are not presented in a particular order, it is not a set of steps we go through in a cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy session. However, our therapy for anxiety (whether in person in Maidstone in Kent or globally – excluding USA / Canada - via webcam), commonly touches on these areas –
1. What is anxiety? What are its roots and what SHOULD anxiety do in the body? How does it affect you, and how is it life-limiting?
2. What are you values and needs, and how does your anxiety get in the way of their fulfilment?
3. How connected are you to your emotions? What do you feel when you’re anxious?
4. How does your anxiety (whether it’s social anxiety, health anxiety or a specific anxiety disorder) tie into your relationships from a psychology point of view? What triggers / cycles / responses do you have?
5. How in touch with your autonomic nervous system are you?
6. What’s your relationship like with the here and now? Are you a ‘forward-projector’?
7. What works for you? Or how do you cope with your anxiety?
8. What other areas of your life are affected by your anxiety? Do you know your triggers?
I believe that anxiety isn’t strictly an emotion (like fear, joy or anger) – it’s a kinetic experience, like nausea. We FEEL it. We DO it. We EXPERIENCE it. It’s a DOING word. No matter what the presenting issue, there’s likely many elements sitting beneath the most pertinent anxiety-related ‘problem’ – whether it’s experiencing panic attacks, clamming up socially, or worrying incessantly about family, health or life milestones. There’s no quick-fix for anxiety, and a multi-faceted approach (including medication, if this is what your doctor advocates) is often desirable.
Anxiety (along with depression) is the world’s most predominant mental health problem.
Anxiety UK, the national charity helping people with Anxiety, states that the most commonly presented anxiety conditions reported to them in the UK are -
1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder
2. Mixed Depression and Anxiety
3. Health Anxiety
4. Social Phobia
5. Depression
6. Panic Disorder
7. OCD
8. PTSD
9. Agoraphobia
10. Emetophobia
11. Work related stress
12. Compulsive Skin Picking
13. Post Natal Depression
14. Toilet phobia
15. Flying Phobia
16. Trichotillomania
17. Body Dysmorphia
18. Compulsive Hoarding
19. Claustrophobia
20. Injection Phobia
21. Exam Stress
22. Dental Phobia
23. Anxiety and Anger Management
If you have concerns with anxiety, contact me today at arrivetherapy@protonmail.co.uk for an informal chat or Zoom call to see if my Hypno-CBT services could be a fit for your needs.
Kathy
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