What Can Therapy Help With?
Seeking therapy is the first step toward feeling better and improving your daily life. Whether you’re experiencing a lack of hope, motivation, self-esteem, social confidence, or any other issue, therapy can be the first step toward healing.
At Behavioral Health of New York, we use a variety of therapy methods to treat mental health disorders, interpersonal challenges, and internal struggles. The therapy methods we provide are evidence-based which means they are backed by scientific research supporting their effectiveness and versatility in treating a number of conditions.
Anxiety
When a person feels levels of worry, concern, or fear that are high in intensity, frequency, or both, it may be indicative of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can be focused on a specific object, event, or stressor, or it may be a general undercurrent to a person’s daily life. Regardless, anxiety disorders often prevent people from living the lives they desire as they try to prevent or avoid the source of their anxiety.
Therapy for Anxiety
Depression
Although often confused with sadness, depression is not an emotion, but rather a mental health condition. It is characterized by low mood, lack of interest or motivation, loneliness, and hopelessness. Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders worldwide, affecting around 280 million people. Left untreated, depression can limit quality of life and in some cases can result in an inability to take care of oneself or other responsibilities. Severe depression is also correlated with suicidal ideation.
Therapy for Depression
People struggling with depression often respond well to therapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Some people with depression may seek out therapy in addition to medication, such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers. Acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT) is also effective for depression, while interpersonal psychotherapy is particularly effective for depression related to interpersonal relationships, loss, and grief.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is a form of anxiety focused on the act of socializing with others. People with social anxiety may feel intense embarrassment or dread in social situations, or they may cope by trying to avoid the social encounter entirely. This can severely limit a person’s ability to live their life.
Social Anxiety Therapy
Social anxiety responds well to similar therapies as a generalized anxiety disorder. The addition of exposure and response prevention (ERP) in conjunction with CBT gives people a gradual, controlled way to confront their fears.
Phobias
People with phobias experience fear, distress, or discomfort when exposed to a specific event, object, or situation. Common phobias include fear of flying, fear of public speaking, or fear of crowds (agoraphobia).
Phobia Therapy
By far the most effective phobia therapy is exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. ERP allows people to be exposed to their phobia in a safe, controlled environment, lowering their levels of distress. ERP therapy can even be conducted virtually to simulate certain scenarios, such as flying on a plane or speaking in front of a large audience.
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are short, intense episodes of fear, panic, and terror. They are often accompanied by shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, crying, and a sense of doom. Panic attacks may appear to have a specific trigger, or they may occur seemingly out of nowhere. After repeated panic attacks, people often develop a fear of having a panic attack itself.
Therapy for Panic Attacks
Cognitive behavioral therapy for panic attacks mostly consists of learning tools that will lessen a person’s fear and distress. With the tools taught through CBT, a person can learn to interrupt or redirect thought patterns that typically lead to panic attacks.
Work Stress & Burnout
Around 80% of Americans in the workplace have reported experiencing work stress. High levels of job stress can lead to burnout, a condition now formally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Burnout is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and disconnection from one’s job. It can lead to both physical and mental health problems.
Therapy for Work Stress
Effective therapies for work stress include both CBT and ACT. Interpersonal psychotherapy can be helpful if the cause of job stress is related to interpersonal interactions at work.
OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
People with OCD experience unwanted thoughts, known as obsessions, and manage these thoughts with certain repetitive behaviors, known as compulsions. The link between the obsession and compulsion may appear to be connected (e.g., washing your hands when you’re worried about sanitation) or random (e.g., turning the lights on and off five times before leaving the house). These obsessions and compulsions often prevent people with OCD from living the lives they desire.
Therapy for OCD
OCD is highly responsive to ERP therapy, in which a person is exposed to the scenario that triggers their obsessive thoughts and then learns to refrain from acting on their compulsions. ACT is often incorporated to teach people a different relationship to their thoughts so it’s easier to let go of compulsive thoughts and behaviors.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Trauma is not rare, nor is it an experience exclusive to people with military service. In fact, it’s estimated that most people will experience at least one trauma over the course of their lives. People who experience trauma may end up developing PTSD, a disorder that heightens a person’s physical and emotional responses as their body attempts to protect them from re-experiencing previous trauma or encountering new dangers.
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Prolonged exposure (PE) therapy is specifically designed for people who have experienced trauma. It allows them to recall or confront past traumatic experiences in a safe environment. Trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy is a specific form of CBT that is also useful in helping people with PTSD.
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
ADHD is a common condition affecting the brain’s executive functions and resulting in restlessness, inattention, and impulsivity. Although commonly associated with children, ADHD also affects adults.
ADHD Testing & Therapy
Undiagnosed and untreated ADHD can have a negative affect on work, relationships, school, and other parts of your life. At Behavioral Health of New York, we offer ADHD testing for children as well as ADHD testing for adults who may have slipped through the cracks. ADHD testing can help you secure school or workplace accommodations that make it easier for you to learn, work, and succeed.
After receiving an ADHD diagnosis, ADHD therapy can help you learn techniques for managing your condition, including time management skills, self-compassion, and structured work or study habits.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder refers to a group of developmental disorders characterized by different strengths and struggles in socialization, communication, behavior, and emotional processing. People with autism may show strength in one area while struggling in another. Common symptoms of autism include difficulty connecting with others, deep knowledge or talent in an area of special interest, and repetitive, soothing behaviors.
Autism Testing & Therapy
Autism testing can provide clarity and understanding to individuals with autism as well as their families. It can also ensure that you receive any necessary accommodations to succeed at work or in school. Although children as young as two can receive an autism diagnosis, adults can also receive autism testing.
Receiving an autism diagnosis can be a time of transition. Therapy can help people with autism learn how to process past experiences and navigate their new diagnosis.
Relationship Issues
Relationship issues can have a significant effect on our personal and professional lives. They can influence how we interact with our partner, spouse, family member, and even coworkers.
Therapy for Relationship Issues
In therapy, you can identify your relationship issues, learn better ways of reacting to those issues, and choose healthier behaviors. We use a variety of therapy methods for relationship issues, and we’ll tailor the method most suited to you.
See What Therapy Can Help You With
Therapy can help with a variety of mental health conditions, interpersonal struggles, and internal dilemmas. Whatever you need help with, contact Behavioral Health of New York today to start therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don’t need to be diagnosed with a specific mental health disorder in order to start therapy. Many people seek out therapy for a short period of time to overcome a specific obstacle or situation that’s causing distress.
Our psychologists at Behavioral Health of New York bring with them a breadth and depth of knowledge about a variety of mental health conditions. If your specific condition is not listed here, we still may be able to help you. If we can’t, we’ll do our best to make an appropriate referral.