Fear Treatment

The Fear of Intimacy derives from 3 Fears

Click here for the article published by Psychology Today. To build and maintain healthy connections, it’s important to be open, trusting, and emotionally invested in relationships. Sadly, many individuals face anxieties that hinder their ability to form and sustain fulfilling bonds. These fears often originate from past experiences that have left emotional scars, deep insecurities, …

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6 Steps to Overcome a Fear of Needles

Click here for the article published by Psychology Today. Fear of needles is a widespread issue, affecting individuals of all ages. Research suggests that up to 50% of teenagers, and at least 20 to 30% of adults experience needle fear. This problem can severely limit your life, potentially preventing you from receiving vital medical care …

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Keeping Health Care Workers Healthy During COVID-19: Exploring the Link Between Fear, Resilience, and Psychological Distress

Click here for the article published by Frontiers in Psychiatry. This study found that incorporating the Fear of Covid Scale (FCV-19S) and the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS14) into the analysis revealed interesting insights. When FCV-19S was included, it was associated with psychological distress, but job titles were not. However, when RS14 was considered, resilience was …

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Mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy effects on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder: a network intervention analysis

Background
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe and undertreated condition. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychosocial treatment for this common disorder, how the intervention works is insufficiently understood. Specific pathways have been hypothesized, but only one small study has examined the precise nature of treatment effects of CBT, and no prior study has examined the effects of supportive psychotherapy (SPT).

Methods
This study re-examined a large trial (n = 120) comparing CBT to SPT for BDD. Network intervention analyses were used to explore symptom-level data across time. We computed mixed graphical models at multiple time points to examine relative differences in direct and indirect effects of the two interventions.

Results
In the resulting networks, CBT and SPT appeared to differentially target certain symptoms. The largest differences included CBT increasing efforts to disengage from and restructure unhelpful thoughts and resist BDD rituals, while SPT was directly related to improvement in BDD-related insight. Additionally, the time course of differences aligned with the intended targets of CBT; cognitive effects emerged first and behavioral effects second, paralleling cognitive restructuring in earlier sessions and the emphasis on exposure and ritual prevention in later sessions. Differences in favor of CBT were most consistent for behavioral targets.

Conclusions
CBT and SPT primarily affected different symptoms. To improve patient care, the field needs a better understanding of how and when BDD treatments and treatment components succeed. Considering patient experiences at the symptom level and over time can aid in refining or reorganizing treatments to better fit patient needs.

Online group music therapy: proactive management of undergraduate students’ stress and anxiety

Click here for the article published by Frontiers in Psychiatry. In alignment with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal to provide comprehensive and integrated mental health services in community-based settings, this randomized control trial explored the efficacy of online group music therapy as a proactive intervention for reducing stress and anxiety in university students who …

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Lessons in Stress Reduction

A new free online course has been launched to try and reduce the stress of the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT) are to offer hundreds of hours of free training online to help people deal with the tidal wave of stress caused by Covid. ISATT […]

Could virtual reality gaming help people overcome anxiety? – podcast

Madeleine Finlay speaks to science correspondent Linda Geddes about trying out a virtual reality game that challenges you to keep your heart-rate down while facing a terrifying monster, why it could help with tackling anxiety, and whether the gamification of coping strategies could be the best way to integrate them into our every day lives Clip: Hellblade (Ninja Theory) Continue reading…

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