The Top 4 Most Effective Types of Therapy for Anxiety

There are lots of different opinions out there about the best ways to manage anxiety and mental health. If you’ve struggled for a while, you might be familiar with having people throw random suggestions at you, like “have you tried yoga?” or “what about meditation?” or even “you should try the pills I take”. 

Now, it’s not that these are necessarily all bad ideas, but these well-intentioned people often fail to consider that everyone is different and there isn’t always a simple “fix”. These suggestions can feel like part of the many unhelpful things to say to someone with anxiety.

Maybe you’ve even had the suggestion “you should go to therapy”. Alright, seems simple enough. But when you look into it, you realize there are different types of therapy. You might be left wondering what the differences are. This article will give you some tips about the different types of therapies available, to help you decide what might be best for you.

Firstly, it is important to remember that these therapies are what we call “evidence-based”. This means they’ve been proven to be effective in reducing or treating anxiety. So with this assurance in mind, you can choose any of these based on the one that makes the most sense to you. You are much more likely to continue with therapy and engage well with it, if it is interesting to you and fits well with your personality. 

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

One of the most widely used anxiety treatments is CBT—and this therapy is also used successfully for depression. At its core, CBT focuses on the impact of our thoughts on our emotions and behavior. 

CBT therapists believe that feelings of anxiety are the result of negative thoughts about ourselves and the world that are not necessarily accurate—and that relief from anxiety comes from identifying and challenging those thoughts.

Changing our thoughts and beliefs changes how we feel about a situation and how we behave in that situation (e.g. staying at a party instead of leaving early). 

CBT has been shown to work for every type of population and for multiple mental health issues. In particular, if you’re a structured and logical person, CBT can be very effective since it encourages us to break down our thoughts and feelings, and be systematic in how we deal with them.

2. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is another widely used therapy that is useful for many mental health conditions, including anxiety. ACT works on the idea that strong emotions (e.g. anxiety, fear, anger, sadness) are a completely normal part of life, and what matters is how we deal with them—if we can accept the emotions as normal, we will be less negatively impacted by them. 

This therapy also encourages us to focus on what is really important to us (e.g. family, health, career). ACT helps us commit to taking actions that allow us to live in accordance with our values, while accepting that negative emotions are an inevitable part of living a meaningful life.

3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is a useful therapy that teaches us to tolerate distress and regulate our emotions in difficult and stressful situations. DBT therapists focus less on our thought processes and beliefs about ourselves, and focus more on building up our ability to manage strong feelings and not act impulsively in stressful situations.

DBT also helps to build our sense of identity and autonomy in the world, and incorporates skills for improving our relationships with others. DBT is especially useful for people who experience intense distress, and can also be great for teenagers.

4. Schema Therapy

Schema therapy is a therapy that works on the understanding that our past experiences act as ‘filters’ through which we see the world—so past experiences of abuse, abandonment, rejection or failure can make us more sensitive to things in the future, and cause us anxiety and stress. Schema therapists assess our core schemas and identify the situations and memories that are attached to them, working to shift the schema into something more helpful and less distressing.

Schema therapy is useful for most populations, as it can be helpful to identify how our past experiences contribute to current anxiety symptoms. Schema Therapy can be of particular value to people who have had traumatic experiences which negatively affect their lives. Sometimes this therapy can be combined with other therapies such as DBT or ACT, which offer practical strategies for dealing with anxiety symptoms.

Comparing CBT to ACT, to DBT, to Schema Therapy

Above are some of the best therapies that are useful for anxiety. As you can see, they are all quite different. Depending on the therapist you see, they may use a combination of these therapies to help with your anxiety symptoms. Often it is useful to understand what caused the symptoms, and then create a plan of how to manage and reduce them, and a therapist will help you do this. 

Different people will respond better to different therapies—for example, if you enjoy talking about the past and analyzing behavior and situations, you may prefer Schema Therapy, whereas if you are more practical and physical, DBT might be better for you. Licensed therapists are trained in most of these therapies, so they can work with you to choose the type of therapy that will be the most effective for you.

Why your relationship with your therapist is so important

One important thing to consider when choosing a therapy—and a therapist—is that what we call the “therapeutic relationship” is of utmost importance. This means that if you trust and respect your therapist, and feel like they can help you, you are likely to engage well with therapy and make good progress.

Fortunately most therapists are warm and helpful people, but if you aren’t feeling a connection with your therapist, it may be time to look for a new one, or discuss this issue with them.

In the meantime…

If you’re interested in trying out some of these therapies, the good news is that you don’t need to wait to see a therapist! Mental health apps like Mind Ease offer exercises based on CBT, ACT and DBT, and are designed to help you to manage anxiety wherever you are. 

For some people, Mind Ease is something they use in between therapy sessions, whereas for others it is something they use regularly to manage their anxiety symptoms. Daily exercises that take less than 10 minutes can make a significant change in mood and anxiety level, and help to deal with stresses that come up during the day. 

Download Mind Ease to start trying out some of these therapeutic techniques!