Anxiety is essentially a construct — a certain category of thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions that we as a society have collectively labeled “anxiety.” And while this label allows us to understand and communicate these experiences with each other more effectively, it is also society that has told us what to think about anxiety — in essence, that anxiety is bad. But maybe it doesn’t have to be…
In this video lesson, Dr. Michael Twohig explores how it is this negative framing — rather than the experience of anxiety itself — that can lead to experiential avoidance and further suffering. He walks through how working with the ACT core processes can change the function of anxiety, helping clients rewrite the narrative and live with their experiences more fully and flexibly.
This free lesson is an excerpt from ACT for Anxiety Disorders, an online course led by Dr. Twohig designed to help you effectively apply ACT to address anxiety disorders and OCD.
Inside ACT for Anxiety Disorders, Dr. Michael Twohig will teach you the industry-standard treatment used by anxiety-treatment experts around the world. Through 6 modules of clear instruction and clinical demonstrations, you will learn how to increase ACT’s effectiveness in treating anxiety by integrating ACT-based exposure exercises into your work. And you’ll learn strategies for skillfully identifying and targeting core fears for clients with anxiety, as well as creating opportunities for clients to practice psychological flexibility with your support in session.
After completing the course material, you’ll have a new, highly effective anxiety treatment tool that can be used with every anxiety-related disorder, from OCD to panic disorder to generalized anxiety disorder.
Click here to learn more about ACT for Anxiety Disorders and enroll