Joseph Mandwee PhD, LMSW

Depression, like anxiety and often a comorbidity of it, is one of the most common mental disorders in the world. Depression can present in several forms, including in adjustment or transition to stressful life changes, as a result of a larger, underlying issue like Bipolar Disorder, or when your evolutionary needs as human being remain unmet. Depression is usually accompanied by errors in thought patterns known as cognitive distortions which need to be addressed in CBT.

Anxiety, like depression and often a comorbidity of it, is one of the most common mental disorders in the world. Anxiety can present in several forms, including in adjustment or transition to stressful life changes, as a generalized condition on its own, as a result of another condition, or when your evolutionary needs as human being remain unmet. Anxiety usually includes much thought rumination and cognitive distortions, which can be addressed with CBT and/or mindfulness-based approaches.

Mindfulness simply means being fully aware of your thoughts, emotions, sensations, perceptions, and surroundings. The practice of mindfulness itself has actually existed as long as hominids have; our evolutionary ancestors may have stumbled upon a waterfall in the vast wilderness and felt mindful when taking in the beautiful scenery and calming sounds of nature. Today, there are a countless number of mindfulness-based approaches, all aiming to help you be present in the moment.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, is really an entire field in its own right. Developed in large part by Aaron Beck, a founding father of psychotherapy, CBT is one of the most popular and effective treatment approaches in the world. The idea is that your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are connected, constantly influencing each other. To improve these aspects, we employ behavioral conditioning and cognitive challenging, restructuring, and reframing.

Have you ever heard the phrase "all we have to fear is fear itself"? Simply (perhaps over-simply) put, that is the basis of exposure therapy. The only way to conquer our fears and traumas is to expose ourselves to them, either through detailed narration of our experiences (narrative exposure), habitual response prevention, or desensitization to an overactive fear response. Through conditioning, one can overcome the struggles of the past and move towards a healthier future.