Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Sydney

An example of a practical form of cognitive behavioural therapy is called exposure therapy. It can be used to treat issues like anxiety for example.

The best way out of anxiety is through it. This is the core message of exposure therapy. It is designed to help people overcome their fears.

During exposure therapy, a person identifies a fear they want to conquer such as a fear of public speaking. Then, they come up with tasks they can do to overcome that fear. They start with easy tasks first, for example, watching public speaking videos on youtube or doing a speech by themselves at home. They then move on to tasks that are of a medium difficulty. This could be something like performing a speech in front of family members, before moving on to harder tasks like performing a speech in front of strangers.

Exposure can be done in different ways. Some people start with the easy tasks first, before working up to the medium and difficult ones. Others jump straight into the difficult ones first. Neither approach is better. Although the second and more difficult approach tends to get results faster.

Exposure therapy has been proven to be effective in treating phobias, social anxiety panic attacks, and worry. 

It works because it desensitises us to our fears. It’s like getting into a cold pool: it’s quite shocking and uncomfortable at first, but we gradually adjust to it (if we stay in it and don’t get out). Exposure can also teach us important lessons about ourselves. It teaches us that we can be brave when we chose to be. It also teaches us that we can take risks and endure discomfort when needed.