Social anxiety treatment

[Willow7]

Hi I'm Willow!

I started CBT with a psychotherapist 3 weeks ago. Shes great but theres soo much information that it causes me anxiety to even think about the next appointment.

Has anyone done this type of treatment and have seen positive results?

Appreciate any feedback.

[AJ]

Welcome Willow. Have you discussed the CBT and your anxiety with the psychotherapist?

I personally have not had experience with CBT.

[justaposition]

Hello Willow, welcome to the MDSC Forum! I have had positive experiences with CBT. I spoke with a psychotherapist on a biweekly basis and made a note of topics, situations, and/or questions to bring up during the next session. This allowed me to funnel an otherwise overwhelming amount of fodder that could have consumed my session and left me feeling dissatisfied. In my personal experience, returning to a theme after three or four consecutive sessions (uninterrupted) is when I felt the therapist and I arrived at place beyond the surface. That is precisely when I found an excuse to not book another session for awhile , however, transparency about a reluctance to reach a breakthrough or anxiety towards such an outcome is a topic I would recommend sharing with your psychotherapist. I hope this helps and please stay in touch!

[sandy11]

Hi Willow! Psychotherapy can be such an exciting but also a daunting journey to begin-- thank you for sharing! I'm rather late to the party but I hope your CBT experience went well! Just wanted to add to this thread in case others are also looking into CBT for social anxiety as well

I've done CBT for social anxiety in the past and have also had a positive experience! I found CBT to be action-based, which I was a bit apprehensive about initially, but eventually grew to appreciate. As someone with social anxiety who often mulls over interactions/ situations longer than I should, having my therapist help me pick up on this and guide me toward a plan of action was super helpful.

Justaposition was spot-on with the structure of typical CBT sessions. Each weekly session I had usually began with a check-in on how the current week was and if I had taken steps to reach my goals from the previous session (re-visiting the homework we set together!).

I found that the "homework assignments" helped keep me accountable for what I said I would try doing outside of sessions. Most importantly, through these assignments, I learned skills that I could take with me and continue applying them to different situations, even after I completed the CBT program.

Overall, practicing self-kindness and patience goes a long way in starting therapy. Regardless of any treatment you may find yourself looking into-- you got this!