Therapy for General Anxiety Disorder

The purpose of this assignment is to apply two alternative methods of counselling as an alternative to cognitive-behavioural therapy.   General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), the “common cold” of all anxiety disorders will be studied and the approaches that will be applied are Group Therapy and the postmodern approach of Solution Focused Therapy (SFT). I will provide a general overview of GAD, SFT and Group Therapy and go on to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these methods with regards to the treatment of GAD.
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one the of the most highly prevalent mental health conditions and is characterised by excessive and uncontrollable worry that causes impairment and considerable distress.   According to Barlow & Durand (2009) about two thirds of sufferers are female.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It is a natural defence and the part of human life which makes it possible for us to respond immediately, without much, or any thought, to situations perceived as dangerous, uncontrollable or unavoidable. Whereas in early mankind this occurrence might have been a physical danger, in modern times it is more likely an emotional threat. Fear is the part of anxiety related to the specific behaviours of escape or avoidance of a situation.   Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state that is characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural components. Somatic relates to the body as opposed to the mind. An example would be having heart palpitations and sweaty palms. The emotion relates to the mind and could be fear, worry and dread. Irrational thoughts fall under cognitive behaviour relating to thought processes. All of these components contribute to resisting behaviours such as avoidance, withdrawal or losing one’s temper, the fight or flight concept.
Clients that suffer from nonstop excessive anxiety find it difficult, if not impossible, to control. It is normally about everyday events such as getting to appointments...