Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorder Case Study

This report examines the application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in treating anxiety disorders. It begins with an introduction to anxiety disorders and their impact on mental health, emphasizing the need for effective treatment strategies. The core of the report focuses on a case study of a 38-year-old registered practical nurse experiencing generalized anxiety and depression due to the pressures of balancing work, education, and family responsibilities. The discussion delves into the principles of CBT, developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck, explaining its focus on the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The report highlights how CBT helps patients identify and modify destructive thought patterns to manage their emotions and behaviors. Furthermore, it explores how nurses can use CBT to assist patients in developing coping strategies, managing time effectively, and regaining control over stressful situations. The report also emphasizes the importance of a therapeutic relationship between the nurse and patient, incorporating empathy and compassion to facilitate positive changes in perception and behavior. Finally, the conclusion reiterates the effectiveness of CBT in treating anxiety and depression, underscoring the role of collaborative interaction between patients and nurses in achieving successful outcomes. The report references several academic sources to support its claims.

Running head: COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 1
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Anxiety Disorder
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 2
Introduction
Anxiety disorder is an indicator of poor mental health conditions. It is the most common type
of emotional disorder and it can affect individuals of any age. Excessive worrying about daily
matters, panicking or sweating is the hallmarks of such disorder. A proper treatment plan
should be designed for addressing anxiety disorder and depression which will help the
individuals to manage and reduce the ill effects and lead a normal stress-free life. The
purpose of the paper is to find a particular theory or a therapy model that can be used for
treating patients suffering from anxiety problems(Tanoue, Yoshinaga, Kato, Naono-
Nagatomo, Ishida & Shiraishi, 2018).
Discussion
Case description
The given case study speaks about a 38 years old Registered Practical Nurse who is looking
forward to becoming a Registered Nurse. She remains very busy and occupied always as she
has to balance both education and job at the same time. She hardly gets any time for
relaxation and recreation. Moreover, she always remains stresses thinking about meeting the
demands of her work, career and family responsibilities. She is so engrossed over her duties
that she has forgotten how to enjoy life. When she was in the second year, she was diagnosed
with generalized anxiety disorder and depression which greatly hindered her professional and
personal life. By analyzing her case, the doctors found that she was lacking coping strategies,
so she faced so much difficulty in dealing with stress(Pan, Chen & Yang, 2019).

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 3
Description of the theory
Cognitive-behavioral theory, developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck, consists of cognitive-
behavioral therapy which is a psychological treatment procedure involving the interaction
between how one believes, experiences and behaves. It is used in the treatment of patients
with an anxiety disorder and depression(Robichaud, Koerner & Dugas, 2019). It helps the
patients to understand the feelings and thoughts that may influence behavior. It also assists
them in identifying and changing the destructive thought patterns that may have a negative
influence on an individual’s emotion and behavior.
The primary aim or purpose of the Cognitive-behavioral theory is to bring a positive variation
in the thought patterns and behavior of an individual which ultimately changes the way they
perceive and feel about the situation. It is a goal-oriented approach and encourages the active
participation of the individual. The Cognitive theory is based on certain assumptions,
according to the theory, mental illness arises from faulty cognitions about others and it is
related to the deficiency in cognitive thinking and planning or cognitive distortion, where a
person process information incorrectly. This faulty cognition changes the way a person
perceives the world around him. The key concepts behind this theory are how an individual
thinks or feels about a certain situation, and how he then acts against it. It is an interaction
between thinking, feeling and behaving since thoughts only determine the feelings and
behavior of a person. All these aspects of life are highly influenced by environmental factors,
which can be both a social or physical environment. Any alteration in any of the stated
factors can disturb the balance and can bring both positive or negative outcomes. Negative
thoughts can give rise to distressful situations and result in problems. The Cognitive
Behavioural therapy based on Cognitive Behavioral Theory is mostly used to treat patients
with mental illness(del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes, Linares, Jurado, Márquez & Martínez, 2020).
Nurses are primarily involved in patient care and they use this Cognitive theory to treat

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 4
patients suffering from anxiety disorder and depression, help them to get over their fears and
change the dysfunctional thought patterns that may lead to maladaptive behavior into positive
productive thinking, assist them in reducing their stress through cognitive restructuring and
lifestyle change. Cognitive therapy also requires a good therapeutic relationship between the
nurse and the patient(McAllister, Robert, Tsianakas & McCrae, 2019), where both the
therapist and the patient work together towards a common goal, which is to identify the root
cause of maladaptive behavior and eliminate it. The nurse should show empathy and
compassion while treating such patients and try to build a rapport or bond with the patient.
Nurses use their critical thinking and decision making skills to facilitate modifications in the
thought patterns, belief and perception of such patients, assess their mental and physical
condition and report it on a timely basis. They seek the help of the cognitive-behavioral
approach to ensure patient satisfaction by reducing their stress and anxiety(Saito, Shiraishi &
Yoshinaga, 2019).
Theory in practice
In the given case study, the 38 years old lady was balancing both work and career at the same
time. Being a registered practical nurse, she had lots of duties and responsibilities. Nursing is
itself a stressful profession as it involves a serious work environment and patient
responsibilities. On the other hand, being a student also brings some added responses and
workload. It is very difficult for a person to manage both at the same time and failing to
balance between the two can give rise to stress and depression within an individual, which
exactly happened in this case. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help her in learning coping
strategies which can help her deal with the stress more professionally. It is also an effective
method to adopt time management skills, which will help the patient in prioritizing the task
along with respecting time limits. In this way, she can allot a certain time within a day for
certain tasks, as a result, the stress will be reduced significantly. Cognitive therapy provides a

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 5
broader perspective over a certain situation and helps the individual to regain control over it
by adapting certain strategies that help the individual to deal with the stressful situation with
more ease and confidence. A nurse or a cognitive behavioral therapist assumes the role of a
friend or a mentor, creates an interactive therapeutic relationship with the patient makes the
patient more comfortable so that she can share her thoughts and feelings with the therapist,
moreover, it also helps the therapist to understand the patient better. The therapist also
provides non-judgemental, empathetic and compassionate care to the patient, assisting her to
alter her thoughts and perceptions in a positive way(Hayes & Hofmann, 2017). It is important
for a nurse to set up a one to one relationship with the patient, suggesting her not to stress too
much about work and responsibilities, ask her to go with the flow, perform her duties without
thinking much about the outcome. This will help her in living a happy, positive and stress-
free life(Seager, Mennin & Aldao, 2019). The nurse also suggests some relaxation therapies
for the patient, which will help her in recreation and relaxing her mood, because it is not
possible to work every time, the body also needs some rest to work efficiently. Furthermore,
the therapist will guide the patient to let go of the situations she has no control over and
concentrate only on the things which can be controlled, this will greatly reduce the emotional
burden to some extent. The nurse should keep a record or a diary to assess the patient
regularly, keep a note of the improvement or deterioration of the mental condition of the
patient. This will help the nurse to analyze and evaluate the patient and prepare treatment
strategies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be applied to treat
patients with mental illness such as anxiety problems and depression. It is a physiotherapeutic
approach that alters the maladaptive and destructive thought patterns and behavior within an

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 6
individual into positive and constructive thinking and behavior. A good cognitive
therapeutical therapy is facilitated by proper interaction between the patient and the nurse
who work together to find an effective solution.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 7
REFERENCE
del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes, M., Linares, J. J. G., Jurado, M. D. M. M., Márquez, M. D. M. S.,
& Martínez, Á. M. (2020). The mediating role of cognitive and affective empathy in
the relationship of mindfulness with engagement in nursing. BMC Public
Health, 20(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8129-7
Hayes, S. C., & Hofmann, S. G. (2017). The third wave of cognitive behavioral therapy and
the rise of process‐based care. World Psychiatry, 16(3), 245.
https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20442
McAllister, S., Robert, G., Tsianakas, V., & McCrae, N. (2019). Conceptualising nurse-
patient therapeutic engagement on acute mental health wards: An integrative
review. International journal of nursing studies.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.013
Pan, Y., Chen, R., & Yang, D. (2019). The Role of Mutuality and Coping in a Nurse-Led
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention on Depressive Symptoms Among Dementia
Caregivers. Research in gerontological nursing, 12(1), 44-55.
https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20181212-01
Robichaud, M., Koerner, N., & Dugas, M. J. (2019). Cognitive behavioral treatment for
generalized anxiety disorder: From science to practice. Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315709741-1
Saito, Y., Shiraishi, Y., & Yoshinaga, N. (2019). Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety in
dementia caregivers: A review of the foreign literature in English. Japanese Journal
of Nursing and Health Sciences, 17(2), 28-36.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY DISORDER 8
Seager, I., Mennin, D. S., & Aldao, A. (2019). Positive Emotion in Generalized Anxiety
Disorder. The Oxford Handbook of Positive Emotion and Psychopathology, 298.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190653200.013.20
Tanoue, H., Yoshinaga, N., Kato, S., Naono-Nagatomo, K., Ishida, Y., & Shiraishi, Y.
(2018). Nurse-led group cognitive behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder
among adults in Japan: A preliminary single-group study. International Journal of
Nursing Sciences, 5(3), 218-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.06.005