General Comments about Behavioural Therapy
1. This type of therapy works best when there is a close working relationship between you and your therapist. This relationship should be collaborative one in which you both work together as a team. It should be an open relationship in which you feel comfortable talking about any doubts or anxieties you may have about your progress your personal life, or the way in which your therapist behaves.
2. Throughout therapy you will be given HOMEWORK to do between therapy sessions. This is very important part of behavioural Therapy and it is important that you understand both what you have to do, and why. It will almost certainly be useful to have a notebook and pen handy during therapy sessions so that you can take notes of anything that you need to remember.
3. During the first few sessions of therapy, as part of the general assessment of your problems and present circumstances, it will be useful to set specific TREATMENT GOALS. Setting goals gives impetus to the process of treatment. If you have in your mind a clear picture of how you would like to change and what you imagine your life could be like if you were free of anxiety, you will know what you are working toward. So share your ideas with your therapist so that he can help you reach your goal. In addition to the steps in Cognitive Therapy outlined above, there may well be other therapeutic techniques and approaches that you can use to learn how to control your anxiety, or to put yourself in situations that you have been afraid of, or to learn more effective ways of behaving in social situations. For example, your therapist may help you learn to relax, or how to approach fearful situations using a method called 'graded exposure', of how to become more assertive using role-play techniques. It is not always clear at the start of treatment which approach is likely to be most beneficial to you, and finding the right approach may involve some degree of trial and error.
4. Your therapist may also wish to involve a family member or friend in your treatment programme. This would only be initiated after discussing it with you. This provides people with moral support, hopefully positive feedback and encouragement.
5. Relapse is possible even after apparently successful treatment. Your therapist will discuss with you strategies for preventing this from happening. You must however continue to be vigilant after treatment and if the anxiety or avoidance begins to return it is important that you reapply the exposure or other behavioural strategies you learned during treatment as quickly as possible. If in doubt or you need advise then contact your therapist. They really won't mind.
