I had a really good moment this last week.. I saw a client who's about my age and makes 6 figures. At first we were doing marriage therapy with her and her husband, but then the two of them started doing a little better because she learned to share her feelings with him, so now I just see her for her anxiety.
Part of the problem is that she has a tithing problem and hasn't felt worthy of God's help with her anxiety. She has to keep a pill in her pocket all day in case she needs it at work because she gets so anxious she just melts down (not good when you are a manager of many people) and sits at her desk immobile with anxiety thinking" I'm going to loose my job". She's been popping one daily.
Any way, the cool part of the intervention was knowing that she's going to get herself worthy AND I had some ideas for her from a OCD book I just read. I told him to have a daily "anxiety appointment" where she spends 15 minutes every night just cutting loose on the anxiety, worrying her head off and not trying to think of positive thoughts. That she only allow herself to worry during her appointment and if she starts to have anxiety during the day, turn it to problem solving. I compared her to a puzzle and she is to let all the pieces just jumble out of the frame during the anxiety appointment. Then put herself back together by problem solving and generating solutions. Then to tell her husband her anxiety and her solutions so they can keep their self-disclosure going. We tried it during session and she did really, really well. It's helps thelp the anxious person get a grip on the anxiety. Get control of it, by postponing it. Doing therapy for LDS family services is so fun because you can talk about the atonement and healing, hope and faith. Change and eternity.
