Hello and welcome back to my series - "Finding the best treatment for your worst anxiety".
We are now in the step of exposing paradigms underlie various programs for treating anxiety.
In each of the following articles I will concentrate on one or keywords, of the kind you can find in previous of various programs, trying to show you what is this keyword mean in general and what does it mean for you.
Note that my explanations are deliberately over simplified.
The reason is that I don't want you to replace your journey for curing your anxiety, with a journey of studding psychology and psychotherapy.
I want you to stay focus and touch the theoretical paradigm - not dive into it and become its fan.
If you like, you can do it later.
In this article we will focus of the term "Cognitive Psychology".
You can also find the term "Cognitive restructuring", Cognitive psychology, is an approach that understand psychological behavior as scheme of cause and effects, and assume that using a rational thinking, guided by therapist, this scheme can be exposed.
While scheme is exposed the individual is targeted to work for changing the scheme.
For example by adding intermediate factors in the cause effect chain, or by trying to replace effects for the same cause.
In simple world, cognitive therapy try to help some person to re-program one own behavioral scheme.
Here are some of the main ingredients of this approach:

1. scheme - behavioral scheme or if you like behavioral program
2. cause and effect - relationships between ingredients that produce some behavior
3. rational scientific thinking - we can rationally expose the schemes of our mental life.
   
4. Internal mental states are acknowledge but many times the "hidden" components of our behavior are referred to states body - for example, some brain activity, we are not awarding to

Programs based upon Cognitive psychology are very appealing for certain reasons, and it is no wonder that many of the programs suggested on the Internet are affected by this approach:

1. Self help - since rational thinking is the working tool, It makes this kind of programs suitable for self-help.
   So someone can download some eBook or DVD or other electronic media, and get by himself into treatment process.
   
2. Easy to understand - if someone provide us with some information, for example, how does some areas in the brain work, it become very easy to understand, using basic common sense, why do we have this unwanted behavior- for example anxiety attack.
   When something is easy to grasp and understand, it can be delivered to many.
   
3. Popularity creates popularity - fashion had always be a factor of preferred psychological treatment.
   The fashion is motivated by culture and norms, and the following values are directly related with popularity of cognitive treatment: sacredness of rationality and rejecting the concept of "unknown", speed of life, result oriented, time equals money, looking for instant solutions, and compulsive chase after happiness.
   These are all values with direct impact about the popularity of cognitive psychology, and one of the leading approaches for establishing psychological treatments.
   

Is this approach good for you? First, you are the only one that should answer this question.
But I am going to help you a little bit, by giving you some possible guidelines Since rational thinking is the major tool, then you are required to rationally accept the approach.
This is by the way, very different condition then in other approaches I will talk about, in which rational thinking is considered as resistance, so it should not be a precondition.
So, if rational acceptances of the approach behind the program is required, my suggestion is to consider your attitude toward the values I just mention above.
For example, if you do not believe that self-help can solve your problem, and there must be someone else involve in the treatment, then using self-help program is not for you.
If you despise some of the cultural values that make this approach very popular, then you may find it hard to rationally accept program preconditions for generating a curing process.
If you tend to response cynically to others, and always try to doubt what someone say to you, and regularly resist someone else opinion or perspective, then you may find it hard to use rational thinking to work upon something that may look to you as too naive when explaining such complex behavior such as anxiety.
If you are using rationality to "resist", then you may find cognitive approaches less suitable for you.
And now surprise - If you are over rational, but deep inside you are aware that this over rationality is a cover for internal world you afraid to expose, then using cognitive psychology approach may act to bury your problem even deeper, since it will cooperate with your resistance.
You may learn to overcome some of the symptoms, but internally, you will continue to suffer.
If this is your case, my advise to you, check for something that incorporate some psychodynamic approaches.
And what about saying yes? On the contrary, if you are are great believer in self-help, willing to take a rational trip into your psychic life, searching for something that is easy to understand and accept, feel perfectly fine with cultural values I just mention above, use to think of your life in terms of success and efficiency, have a strong will to experience popular programs that many have tried before you, have deep respect to coaching attitude in which, someone that "know" help you to "see" your way, because he or she has the knowledge you don't have..
..
If this is you, then you can find programs, based upon cognitive psychology very suitable for you, and worth the try.
I hope these guidelines will help you understand better if cognitive approach is for you.
Note that I didn't say a word about effectiveness and if it is good or bad.
This is completely not relevant.
It is very effective in many cases, and not effective in other cases.
You are not theses cases! You are 'you', and what we try to find is what is suitable for you.
Not for someone else.
Check my reviews for various programs.
I already helped you finding some of the keywords.