Everyone occasionally worries about things such as money, health, or family issues—however, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder are immensely worried about these and other things, despite there being little or no reason to worry about them. They can feel highly tense and anxious about just making it through the day. Often, individuals with GAD worry that things will always go badly or that the worst will happen, frequently keeping them from doing everyday tasks.

Fortunately, several types of psychological treatments have been developed and supported through research in recent decades, most of which utilize cognitive behavioral-based therapies (CBT). This typically entails a mixture of one or more specific techniques, (e.g., cognitive restructuring, biofeedback, exposure, applied relaxation, and problem-solving). Current CBT treatments for GAD often involve metacognitive therapy or acceptance-based behavior therapy, which emphasize the function of worry as a method of avoiding unpleasant internal experiences.

At Spectrum, we integrate traditional cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) with somatic approaches including biofeedback, breathing exercises, guided imagery training and progressive muscle relaxation. Through CBT, we target the underlying belief and thought patterns that cause GAD and work towards adapting these patterns to be more realistic and useful.  An emerging new CBT approach is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and at Spectrum we use ACT extensively to address strategies to deal with fear-triggering thoughts. Extensive research exists demonstrating the effectiveness of traditional CBT and ACT in the treatment of GAD. The somatic training provides alternative coping skills for managing worry and anxiety.