The Best Answer To Your Anxiety May Be Downloadable!

As a practicing psychotherapist in Cary and Crystal Lake, IL, I have seen all kinds of approaches to the treatment of anxiety come and go.

However, to date, CBT is the best! Research has demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy, or, CBT can produce dramatic results in reducing your anxiety.

It works by combining effective mood-enhancing interventions with new cutting-edge techniques that have yielded impressive results. CBT improves your thinking and your ability to accurately assess troubling issues.

Your nervous system then starts to view conflicts calmly and more realistically, rather than in an extreme, panicky or catastrophic way. This dramatically reduces your stress, and helps to improve your sleep and appetite hygiene.

Though few people are privy to it, CBT can be delivered to you, using self-help educational programs, called Self-Therapy Kits, or STKs. When using STKs, CBTs proven interventions are delivered in a multimedia format, which may include any or all of the following: DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, videos etc.

STKs are self-paced, inexpensive and can be used anytime in the comfort of your own home. They teach you how to relieve and cope with your anxieties and frustrations independently.

You can use them anytime at your convenience. You do not have to spill your guts to any strangers or expose yourself to the sometimes dangerous side-effects of medication.

It takes only a few days for them to begin working and the results can be dramatic. They are ideal therapeutic educational tools for people who have particularly private personalities or severe time constraints.

Since you use them in the privacy of your home, using them is like having your own private therapist at your personal disposal. These programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources; they typically cost a one-time fee of anywhere from $9 to $100 or so, and the fee is only a one-time event.

It is not a recurring fee you would have to pay for a private counselor. STKs can be easily located by using an internet search engine.


Are there any drawbacks?

There are two drawbacks to using STKs:

1. They do not address crisis situations as they arise in your life, as would a therapist;

2. STKs are not reimbursable by health insurance policies; and,

What about Crisis Situations?

If you have an unfortunate pattern of being in crisis (for example, feeling suicidal or homicidal) you are not an ideal candidate for using STKs. They are educational tools and are not able to provide the type of immediate attention required in a life-threatening situation.

Crises can only be addressed with a professional counselor who can respond to your needs in real time.

Insurance Coverage:

Insurance companies do not reimburse for educational materials, such as multi-media self-therapy kits (STKs). Therefore, you pay out of your own pocket, but at rates that are dramatically lower than full-fee face-to-face counseling.

As stated previously, these programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources because they typically cost a one-time fee of only $9 to $100 or so, the fee is only a one-time event and you can get your money back if you are not satisfied. The fee is not recurring like the fee for a private counselor and the unconditional guarantee eliminates any risk to you.

Conclusion

When you use an STK, you can be totally honest in your studies, exercises and responses because you do not have to deal with the judgments of another person, as you do in in-person counseling. While it is in your best interest to be honest with a therapist, you may not always do so, particularly when a very sensitive or embarrassing topic arises.

In fact, many people tell stories to their therapists until they feel confident enough to tell the truth. Critically judging you or the facts you present is not helpful when done injudiciously by your counselor, but the concepts about overcoming anxiety presented dispassionately through an STK can guide you judgment-free toward better mental health with no embarrassment.

People who are embarrassed to talk to a professional counselor or who are not able to express themselves easily are particularly attracted to STKs. There are times when a person starts in-office counseling and, after the first visit, chooses to switch to one.

The reason generally given for switching to an STK is a desire for a self-paced experience where they can be in control of how and when they work on things. Some people are simply more comfortable working on their own, in their own environment, and STKs provide an ideal alternative for them.

They are a therapeutic educational modality that help people improve the quality of their emotional life without having to confide in a stranger or take drugs. This form of therapy is very flexible and allows the client to work on alleviating his symptoms, anytime, day or night.

The benefits of using STKs are convenience, confidentiality and an enhanced quality of mental health for those who are on the move, time-restricted, shy or too withdrawn to talk privately to a professional therapist.