Anxiety Disorder Treatment - How Long Does it Take?

There is no 'one size fits all' approach to anxiety disorder treatment. Just as there is no single cause for this condition, there is no single treatment that suits everyone. For some people, treatment may only take a couple of weeks while for others it may take more than a year. For this reason, the first step in treating this problem is that of devising a treatment plan specifically tailored to the individual seeking help.

How is this done? First of all, the health care provider - whether they are the family doctor, a psychologist, a therapist, clinical social workers or a nurse - sits down with the person and evaluates where the problem lies. Other causes must be ruled out and then information about the patient's symptoms is gathered - what they are and when they started. Then that person's life stressors and physical problems are taken into account as well as their family background and medical history.

What can complicate matters a little is the fact that people often suffer from more than one anxiety disorder or they may also suffer from depression. Anxiety disorder has also been shown to be connected to substance abuse. If this is the case, then these problems also need to be addressed in the treatment plan.

Only after all of this information has been evaluated, will a treatment plan be drawn up. Studies have shown that the best results have been obtained when the treatment combines a number of approaches. The usual treatment options are cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, relaxation techniques and alternative therapies.

By using a combination of these approaches and changing the plan as the patient responds means that curing anxiety disorder needn't take years. Medication should be used only as a temporary or emergency measure as the drugs used do have side effects. That said, with proper management, drugs can help the healing process by lessening the symptoms and allowing the patient to deal with thinking and behavior readjustment.

According to the American Psychological Association, most patients following a treatment plan tailored to their needs can expect improvement within eight to ten sessions. For some, this may be all it takes; for others it may take a little longer. What is important is that successful treatment of anxiety disorders is possible and no-one need suffer from them.