What techniques work to support people who experience anxiety and worry?

Most people, if not all, experience anxiety and worry at some point in their lives. When working with individuals with anxiety, it is beneficial for counsellors to develop a relationship based on unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. Building this foundation is essential. In this article, we will discuss some cognitive-behavioral techniques that can help people cope with excessive worry. These include using a daily worry period, exploring problem-solving behaviors, examining catastrophic expectations, and breaking the chains of anxious responses and worrisome thoughts to reduce anxiety pathways in the memory.

Over a period of 3 to 6 months, but more often 6 to 12 months, of weekly sessions with a counsellor, many people can learn and establish a practice of using behavioral techniques. These techniques include relaxation, muscle tensing and relaxing, slow stomach breathing, and pleasant imagery that stimulates soothing and comforting emotions to help calm the nervous system.

In some circumstances, clients learn to monitor daily tension, including muscle tightness and shallow breathing. They can become aware of negative and critical thought patterns and beliefs. Some are able to challenge underlying beliefs and catastrophic thinking quite quickly. This helps them recognize that their beliefs about worrying preventing disaster and protecting them were actually a fear of losing control.

Challenging these beliefs (about worrying to prevent disaster and protect oneself) is an integral part of counselling therapy for many people, allowing them to let go of their worry (or at least reduce the intensity and duration of it). Cognitive therapy can help some people to self-monitor automatic thoughts and use logical analysis by gathering the evidence or facts of a situation, to explore other explanations and perspectives.

Finally, learning to recognize early signs of anxiety and worry, and noticing their reactions, can be life-changing for some people. Once noticed, they can use relaxation and positive self-talk, or try problem solving. In some situations, people explore the use of desensitization using situational imagery and practicing an awareness of body sensations and cognitive (thinking) reactions. This is just a brief description of some of the counselling approaches and techniques that work for supporting people with anxiety or worry.