Key Therapy Concepts 

Habituation

• Background: Absolute and concise beliefs about everything we have encountered in our lives.​

• Nature of thought: Core beliefs are typically subconscious and can be identified by tracking our automatic thoughts.

• Example of thought: Feeling anxious is bad.​​​​

Desensitization

• Background: Rules we develop to help us navigate situations in life. These rules are informed by our core beliefs and take the form of "if-then" statements.​

• Nature of thought: Intermediate beliefs can be both conscious and subconscious. They can also be identified by tracking our automatic thoughts.

• Example of thought: If I get too anxious, then I will lose control.​​​​

Neutralizing Beliefs/assumptions

• Background: Conscious, automatic, or intrusive thoughts we have that originate from our core beliefs and intermediate beliefs. When we experience anxiety, our automatic thoughts turn into thoughts called scary assumptions.

• Nature of thought: Automatic thoughts are typically conscious and can be identified as we are thinking them.

• Example of thought: I am losing control.​​​​​

​​Module 9: Key Module Concepts ​​​​

Low/Medium Exposures

• Background: Past anxious situation tracking is an advanced CBT technique that involves identifying previous anxious situations directly related to the anxiety disorder or issue you are seeking help for. The goal of this process is to recognize what your scary assumptions looked like during those past anxious moments.

• How this helps with treatment: By identifying past scary assumptions, you and Dr. Nabors can gain insight into the underlying beliefs that contribute to your anxiety. These insights will later be used to uncover the subconscious core beliefs that drive the anxious behaviors maintaining your chronic anxiety.​​​​