Treating Anxiety with Psychotherapy
Anxiety Treatment
Anxiety is a feature of contemporary life, however if it is excessive it can be the cause of great anguish and distress. It is important to be aware that anxiety is experienced both physically and mentally.
Anxiety impacts on each individual differently, which means that there is no ‘one size fits all’ treatment. It is with this in mind that Claire will take the time to really listen to you. The aim of psychotherapy is to allow you to understand what may be underlying your anxiety and to help you question what it is about.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy interprets anxiety as a sign that something is disturbing the human subject at a psychical level thus we investigate what anxiety is signalling.
Anxiety is part of everyday contemporary life and up to a certain point works for us. However, when anxiety is experienced as distressing or prevents you from enjoying life in your usual way, this can be interpreted as a signal that something in your life is not working for you and requires attention. Anxiety can take many different forms, for example, it can manifest in generalised anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. The symptoms can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships”.
In psychoanalysis, the symptom of anxiety, which stems from internal psychic conflicts, is understood as having an unconscious meaning unique to the person experiencing it.
“In writing about anxiety Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) made an important distinction between a more primary automatic anxiety, triggered by a traumatic situation in which the helpless ego is overwhelmed, and signal anxiety, which can be activated in the ego response to situations of danger as a kind of warning that a traumatic situation is imminent, so that defensive measures can be put into place to avoid it”
Anxiety counselling and psychotherapy opens up space, unique to you, to express yourself freely and openly without judgement and in confidence.
“Psychotherapy or ‘talk therapy’ can help people with anxiety disorders. To be effective, psychotherapy must be directed at the person’s specific anxieties and tailored to his or her needs”.
[1] National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders
[2] Freud Museum, London: https://www.freud.org.uk/learn/discover-psychoanalysis/what-did-freud-say-about-anxiety/
[3] National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH): Op. Cit
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