Cognitive Vs Cognitive Therapy

One of the most common disorders that plagues our civilization today is social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder can be described as an extreme and persistent fear of social situations. These are situations where an individual could potentially be judged by others (Psychology, Openstax College, 2014). According to Torkil Berge, a psychologist who is part of the Norwegian Association for Cognitive Therapy, twelve percent of the world’s population will be effected by this disorder at some point in their life (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016). While there are many different coping methods for social anxiety, the most common treatment is a combination of medication and cognitive therapy (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016). However, because this disorder can be difficult to communicate to health care providers, many patients end up not receiving …show more content…
It is his belief that cognitive therapy on its own has a greater lasting effect than medication or the combination of the two (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016). Cognitive therapy is a process in which a patient accepts their fear and then focusses their attention on challenging situations. This is done with the help from a therapist (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016). Nordhal believes that most patients place a higher priority on medication, as opposed to learning to cognitively deal with their situation. As a result, once medication has been stopped, the effects of social anxiety return. In Nordhal’s study of treatments for social anxiety, there were over one hundred participants. These participants were separated into four groups. The first group was given only medication to treat