Donald “Don” Crowe, PhD, has practiced as a clinical psychologist for more than 33 years. In that time, Don Crowe, PhD, has come to incorporate cognitive-behavioral therapy as a treatment for mood and other psychological disorders.

1. COGNITIVE-
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
FOR ANXIETY
By Don Crowe PhD

2. Introduction
 Donald “Don” Crowe, PhD, has practiced as a clinical
psychologist for more than 33 years. In that time, Don Crowe,
PhD, has come to incorporate cognitive-behavioral therapy
as a treatment for mood and other psychological disorders.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, a short-term methodology,
treats anxiety by presenting clients with alternatives to
anxious thoughts and feelings. The method centers on the
belief that thoughts are the primary driver of emotions and
behavior, which in turn means that a client can control his or
her anxiety by choosing alternative thoughts. Over the course
of approximately 12 to 16 sessions, a client learns to identify
and change problematic thought patterns and create more
adaptive internal processes.

3. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
 The therapeutic process begins with the client
identifying the thoughts that generate negative
emotions. For someone experiencing anxiety, this
often means identifying assumptions that increase
perceived danger. The client then learns to
challenge these thoughts. When the client finds
that his or her thoughts are not actually realistic,
but are instead what therapists call cognitive
distortions, he or she begins to replace distorted
thoughts with more realistic and positive ideas.
These new thought patterns help to calm the mind
and allow the client to make rational choices that
are not the product of anxiety-driven thinking.