Way to Mindful Living: Types of Therapies to Treat Anxiety Disorders

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• Posted On January 30, 2026

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, anxiety is a condition of feeling excessive fear or dread. When this feeling becomes persistent, it interferes with and disrupts your daily life activities.

Anxiety is like a constant noise that keeps bugging you every time. And honestly, sometimes it gets quite exhausting. However, the good news is that anxiety disorders can be managed! With a bit of mindfulness and the right types of psychotherapy for anxiety, you can surely regain control of your mind.

In this blog, we’ve discussed 7 different types of therapies that can help treat your anxiety disorder. So, stick till the end to learn more.

A Quick Overview of Anxiety Disorders

You might think that feeling a little stressed out before an important meeting is an anxiety disorder. But, nothing can be more wrong!

Because anxiety disorder is much more than these occasional feelings of stress or nervousness. For many people, it becomes a persistent shadow that affects every aspect of their daily lives.

Now, you may be wondering what symptoms indicate whether you are experiencing anxiety disorders. Well, it includes a mixture of both physical and emotional symptoms, like-

• You feel worried or uneasy persistently.
• You can’t completely rest or relax.
• You face difficulty in concentrating.
• You suffer from palpitations.
• You suddenly find yourself sweating or feeling dizzy.
• You can’t sleep or feel worn out all the time.

So, make sure to seek help from a licensed therapist to determine the symptoms you’re experiencing, and opt for the right therapy for anxiety disorder for the best results.

Best Types of Therapies for Anxiety Treatment

Before we plunge into the different types of therapies, here’s a fact: not every kind of anxiety requires therapy! Mild anxiety disorders can be treated with a little self-care.

However, if you’re experiencing bouts of fear, along with racing heartbeats persistently, it’s better if you seek a specialist immediately.

That being said, let’s take a look at the different types of psychotherapy that can help cure your anxiety disorders effectively.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most researched and also most-effective treatment options for anxiety disorders. This kind of therapy helps you identify the negative thought patterns and challenge them. With this approach, you can learn to replace the stream of persistent negative thoughts with more realistic and positive ones.

CBT is extremely popular as one of the best types of therapies for anxiety treatment. It focuses on taking actionable steps to deal with your issue and regain your confidence.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

MBCT blends the working principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with mindfulness meditation. This approach teaches you to stay present in the moment, while observing your thoughts without judgment. How does this help?

Well, this increases your awareness, which ultimately helps you break through that ‘worry loop,’ and let the negative thoughts pass through your mind. MBCT is one of the most highly effective kinds of anxiety counselling and therapy that helps manage generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) and keep you calm.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Out of all the therapies mentioned in this list, psychodynamic therapy stands out due to its unique approach. This therapy is based on a simple principle- how your early life experiences and thoughts can influence your current behavior.

So, during your sessions, you basically take a deep plunge into your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and dreams to get to the root of the issue. This helps you understand the ‘why’ behind your anxiety, and eventually can help you make healthier decisions. Psychodynamic therapy is the biggest instance of mental health therapy types that focuses on self-reflection and long-term emotional growth.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

If you’re suffering from an intense anxiety disorder, along with emotional dysregulation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) might be the best treatment option for you. Why so?

Well, DBT focuses on four areas-

• Mindfulness
• Distress tolerance
• Emotional regulation
• Interpersonal effectiveness.

Added to that, one of the crucial benefits of DBT is that it focuses on real-world applications and offers specific anxiety counselling techniques. For instance, it helps you learn how to pause and observe emotions instead of an impulsive reaction. This helps you to tackle your emotions even when you’re facing high-pressure situations.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Much like psychodynamic therapy, ACT also takes a unique approach to treating your anxiety disorder.

So, instead of fixing your anxious thoughts, an ACT session will teach you to accept them, along with committing to actions that align with your values. It basically reduces the overall struggle that you experience with your thoughts and helps you move forward.

ACT is often used along with other forms of therapy and helps you overcome your issues amidst uncomfortable situations.

Exposure Therapy

Anxiety, at times, leads to avoidant behaviors, where a person gets afraid to confront their fears entirely. If the symptoms align with what you are experiencing, exposure therapy might be the answer.

What is exposure therapy? Well, it involves introducing you to the objects or situations, or feelings that get you triggered. This structured exposure helps your brain to learn that what seems dangerous doesn’t actually exist! This helps build tolerance and decrease your anxiety effectively.

Moreover, along with anxiety disorders, exposure therapy is also effective for treating conditions like PTSD, OCD, or phobias.

Relaxation Therapy

Relaxation therapy is perhaps one of the simplest ways to calm your body and mind, and get rid of anxious thoughts! And if you thought this involves sessions with a psychiatrist, you’re mistaken.

That’s because this particular therapy focuses on alleviating the physical side of stress. Through techniques like deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, etc., your body’s parasympathetic nervous system gets activated, which nullifies the anxious thoughts completely.

So, if you were looking for some physical therapy for anxiety disorders, relaxation therapy can be an effective option!

How to Choose the Right Kind of Therapy?

This happens to be one of the most crucial questions, as anxiety disorders vary from person to person, and the trigger factors are also different in each case. Some might experience sudden anger bursts, while some might sweat profusely and start palpitating.

On top of that, the existence of varied treatments for anxiety disorders makes it quite overwhelming to choose the right one.

So, the best way to tackle this is to consult with a mental health professional first. An initial consultation will help you realize the kind of help you need. Added to that, proper guidance from an expert can help you identify the patterns that you might’ve missed, making it easier for you to choose the best therapy option for yourself.

Wrapping Up

In today’s fast-paced life, anxiety disorders have become quite a common issue. However, ignoring it might lead to severe consequences in the long run. Instead, if you choose to seek help, it is perhaps one of the most courageous steps you can take to achieve mindful living. Having said that, if you’re interested in sharing such health-related articles and blogs, we at The Healthcare Facts would love to have you onboard! Share your writings under our mental health write for us category, and if you seem fit, you’ll be joining our community soon!

F.A.Qs

1. What is the best counseling technique for anxiety?

There are several counselling techniques and therapies for treating anxiety disorders. However, one of the best and most widely recognized techniques happens to be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

2. What therapies are used for anxiety?

Here is a list of the therapies that work effectively as anxiety disorder treatment-

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Exposure Therapy
• Relaxation Therapy

3. What are the first signs of anxiety?

The first signs of anxiety often start with things like physical and mental unease, persistent worries, headaches, palpitations, sleeplessness, and fatigue.

4. How to control anxiety and stress?

Some of the best strategies to control anxiety and stress are-

• Adjustments in the current lifestyle.
• Practicing mindfulness.
• Prioritizing sleep.
• Maintaining a healthy diet, etc.

Eliza Gordon

Eliza Gordon is a seasoned writer for the health industry dedicated to providing fact-based health information. She sources concise facts from authoritative sources to ensure maximum credibility and shares guidelines to lead a healthy lifestyle.