The human brain is fascinating. We like to think of ourselves as logical – believing that our thoughts and emotions are based only on our knowledge and experiences.
That is anything but true.
One amazing example of this is with what are known as “avoidance behaviors,” which play a big role in CBT and anxiety therapy. To understand the effects of avoidance behaviors, let’s use a common fear that many of us have: a fear of spiders.
An Irrational Fear
Most spiders are not dangerous. They rarely bite, they’re afraid of humans, and their toxins are not powerful enough to cause any real damage. The most common spiders in NYC, like the house spider, do not even have teeth that can break skin.
Even the black widow spider bites are never fatal to anyone over the age of 5 and under the age of 65, and rarely fatal to those age groups, and there are essentially no black widow spiders in all of Brooklyn or New York City for this to be an issue.
Yet, many of us still fear spiders. We can discuss the origins of this fear at another time (irrational fears are another reason the human brain is so fascinating) but in this case, let’s talk about what happens when we have this fear:
We see a spider and we run away.
We avoid places that have spiders.
We ask other people in the house without a fear of spiders to get rid of it for us.
These are examples of avoidance behaviors. They are very common for those that have anxiety. As anxiety therapists in NYC, many – if not most – of our patients will show some type of avoidance behavior when they come to us with an anxiety issue.
Now, you would think that avoiding spiders is a natural reaction to fear. You would also think that avoiding spiders is an emotionally-neutral reaction. Meaning, that avoiding something you fear isn’t going to make you fear it any more or any less. But study after study has shown that this is not the case.
In fact, what studies show is that when we avoid something, we *reinforce the fear*. Avoiding something tells the fear part of our brains that it is correct to fear the subject, and the result is that you are *more* likely to fear it in the future.
Why this occur is not entirely clear, but it is called “negative reinforcement.” Taking away or avoiding a bad thing reinforces an idea, thought, or emotion that we have. It’s why logic alone often isn’t enough to get rid of a fear. You might know that spiders are not dangerous, for example, but the more you avoid them, the more your brain thinks that they are.
Anxiety Therapy with CBT in NYC
Flourish Psychology, a Brooklyn-based private practice, works with many patients that are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Identifying avoidance behaviors is part of the process for treating anxiety, and one of the many core components of CBT. If you struggle with anxiety, contact Flourish Psychology, today.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, known as “CBT,” is considered the gold standard psychological treatment for several mental health conditions. CBT is especially effective for anxiety. At Flourish Psychology, we believe in creating a personalized approach to treating all mental health conditions, but for many of our patients, CBT is the best primary treatment choice.
But why is CBT so effective?
Benefits of CBT – What it is and Why it Works
CBT has been extensively researched by universities across the United States. It has been the primary therapy choice on the West Coast for decades. Other therapeutic modalities remained more popular in places like NYC and Brooklyn, like psychodynamic theory, but recently CBT has overtaken them as well as the top choice for most psychologists.
Cognitive behavioral therapy isn’t one specific approach, but rather many different strategies that are all related to addressing cognitions (thoughts) and behaviors. Guided by your therapist, you’ll use strategies that include:
Identifying behavioral patterns.
Challenging thought accuracy.
Creating goals and problem solving.
Activating emotionally healthier behaviors.
Learning relaxation techniques.
Within these are even more techniques and strategies, such as reducing “fortune telling” behavior, journaling, interventions for emotional reasoning, and more.
What makes these techniques so effective is that they are directly related to the thoughts and patterns commonly associated with all forms of anxiety, and they provide those solutions with other benefits that include:
Faster – While there is plenty of benefit to seeing a psychologist for ongoing treatment, CBT itself can provide faster results than almost any other studied form of psychology.
Goal Oriented – You and your anxiety therapist will be specifically trying to reach measurable goals, and will be able to see and track your progress along the way.
Present Focused – There is benefit to talking about your past and future. But when you need help now, what matters most is a present-focused approach, like CBT.
Anxiety itself affects the way people think and act in ways that contribute to even more anxiety. CBT addresses these directly and head on.
Above all else, CBT is evidence-based. This is a form of therapy that has stood up to rigorous psychological testing, so we can deliver CBT with confidence when we treat our patients here in NYC.
About CBT Therapy with the Brooklyn Therapists at Flourish
What matters is your recovery. CBT may be the gold standard, but maybe your specific treatment needs silver or platinum. Our goal is to talk to you to identify what approach makes the most sense for addressing your struggles and your needs.
But there is no denying that for anxiety CBT is one of the best ways to support our patients, and our therapists at Flourish Psychology can provide CBT in ways that encourage your recovery and help you move forward in your life. Learn more about Flourish by contacting our team today.
Most of us have at least a general understanding of mental health. We understand that we can develop conditions like anxiety and depression that cause us to feel worried, sad, stressed, and overwhelmed. We also tend to recognize that these symptoms are not something we easily control, and often benefit from treatment from an experienced NYC psychologist.
But, despite this general understanding of mental health, not all of us can fully process the idea that our thoughts and feelings when we struggle with anxiety and depression may not be genuine – and that the way that we process the world with a mental health condition is affected by these same conditions.
How Mental Health Creates Negative Thinking, Hopelessness
We tend to believe that the way we feel and the way we think are logical and genuine. Even when we struggle with a condition like depression, we still tend to feel like the way that we experience things is how they *are*.
We can see this show up in many different ways:
Neutral Interactions – When we experience an emotionally neutral interaction, such as ordering a coffee from a coffee shop, those with mental health struggles may process it as a negative event. We may feel like it was unenjoyable, or part of a bad day, or a negative experience, even if nothing specifically negative occurred.
Limited Tolerance – With our stress levels high, we have very little capacity for discomforts of any kind, which can lead us to feeling easily annoyed, irritable or stressed. Yet we do not always realize that our stress levels are high, so that intolerance feels like a general annoyance with others.
Fewer Positive Experiences – When you have mental health struggles, the things you enjoy are unlikely to feel as enjoyable, while the things you don’t enjoy feel even worse. If you look back on a day of ½ enjoyable, ½ unenjoyable activities, the day is going to feel like a bad day simply because the enjoyable activities were not able to be enjoyed as often.
But perhaps the most problematic symptom is that depression and anxiety are conditions that feed themselves.
For example, a symptom of depression is a feeling of hopelessness. What this means is that, if a person tries to treat their depression, they are naturally and organically going to feel like the treatment will not work – because the depression causes them to process it as hopeless. That hopelessness feels so genuine, that even a person that knows they have depression may not associate it with their mental health.
The way that psychology affects how we think and how we process the world is fascinating, yet it also means that struggling with a mental health condition can affect us in ways we do not always realize or understand.
Treating Thoughts Can Change Mental Health
All of this is about recognizing that the way that we think isn’t just our personality, our character, or our natural emotions and thought processes. Sometimes, the way that we think and the way we feel is affected by our mental health.
Yet, perhaps what is most fascinating about mental health, in general, is that it’s possible to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions by systematically altering how we see our thoughts and behaviors. Just as depression can cause you to think negatively, so too can learning to think positively help cure depression. It is one of the many ways that mental health is fascinating, and also why anyone struggling with their mental health should consider seeing a therapist for support.
Learn more about our psychotherapy services at Flourish Psychology, today.
As we navigate the new year, one of the things that we may look for is an opportunity to enhance our relationships, from friendships to romance to how we connect with our coworkers. As human beings, relationships play an important role in the way that we see ourselves, and when we reflect on the new year, it is often how our relationships progressed and the experiences we enjoyed with others.
However, often, in order to find and grow in these relationships, we often have to focus on ourselves, and to do that, you may want to ask yourself what it is that makes you interesting.
Qualities of an Interesting Person
There’s a cliché in the dating world that you are more likely to meet someone when you spend time working on yourself. But this isn’t entirely untrue. That is because when we take on activities for ourselves, we also answer an important question: What makes us interesting?
When we take on activities for ourselves, we are able to:
Maintain interesting conversations. The more experiences we have with cool, fun, or unique things, the more we are able to give other people an experience as our friend or partner that they cannot get from others.
Grow our self confidence. When we engage in activities for ourselves, we often find that we grow our self-esteem and self-confidence. This helps to make sure that we’re feeling our best about who we are, making us more fun to talk to.
Find like-minded people. When we engage in activities that we enjoy and are learning from, we also meet people that are interested in the same activities. These are people that likely share your traits – people that will be more interested in you, and vice versa.
“Finding ourselves” by taking on new hobbies and activities and prioritizing self-care has benefits that extend far beyond ourselves. It makes us more interesting to others, and helps you find and meet people that you connect with better.
As we embark on a new year, it also has the added advantage of making life more fulfilling, slowing down time, and ensuring that – at the end of the year – you can look back fondly on who you are and what you accomplished.
Therapy to Help Increase Motivation and Self-Esteem
Still, despite all these benefits, it can be hard to give yourself the motivation to engage in these activities. Poor self-confidence, low energy, stress – these are all issues that can hold you back from committing to activities that will enhance your life. If you’ve been struggling with these issues, call Flourish Psychology today to learn more about our therapists or to schedule an appointment.
It is important to have as healthy a relationship as possible. That is why so many partners seek out therapists that specialize in enhancing and growing relationships. Couples therapists, like our team here at Flourish Psychology, create a comfortable space for both partners to talk about their needs, desires, hopes, and goals, in order to be better understood and put on a path toward strengthening the relationship.
Within this field, you’ll often see several different terms used to describe this process:
Couples Counseling
Couples Therapy
Relationship Counseling
Relationship Therapy
Marriage Counseling
Marriage Therapy
You want what is best for your relationship, so it’s not uncommon to find yourself unsure about the differences between these services and which one is best for you.
Language with Distinctive Definitions
Luckily, for the average couple, these terms have no distinctive meaning. They are used interchangeably to describe the same process – a type of therapy that revolves around your relationship in order to help you grow stronger as a couple. Most of the time, couples counseling vs couples therapy (and most variations) refer to the same thing, and you’ll often find them used to describe the same process.
However, it should be noted that the word choice may have implications for the type of therapy and approach, particularly the choice between “counseling” and “therapy.”
Relationship Counseling and Relationship Therapy
When we use a phrase like “couples counseling,” we are talking about the idea of receiving guidance and feedback from a trained therapist that can help you grow your relationship. Couples therapy, while used in similar situations, tends to imply a more structured type of approach, typically provided by an experienced psychologist that has been trained specifically in effective modalities.
However, since all couples are different, a structured approach is not always best for every situation, in which case a less structured couples counseling may be used instead.
Contact Flourish Psychology for Relationship Help and Support
Most of the time, the terms couples therapy and couples counseling are used interchangeably to refer to the same or a similar process. However, relationship therapy has been extensively researched, and there are structured approaches that therapists – especially clinical psychologists – may use to help address your relationship struggles and concerns. No matter the term, our therapists at Flourish Psychology are available to support you and your relationship, helping it grow and giving you the tools you need to move forward. Learn more about our relationship counseling or get started by calling Flourish Psychology, today.
Location: 300 Cadman Plaza West Floor 12 - Brooklyn, NY 11201
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