Therapy focused on the reduction of threat perception (TFRTP) based on the PAMTA and ACT model to decrease pathological worry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33064/51crscsh4998Keywords:
anxiety, stress, worry, treatment, acceptance and commitment therapy, generalized anxiety disorderAbstract
Worry is a complex process of great adaptive utility for the human being, which is possible due to the capacity for anticipation and language. According to the PAMTA model (Perception of future threat, Activation, Motivation, Thought and Action), it reduces the probability that we are affected by different threats or mitigate their effects if they occur. However, dysfunctions are frequently observed in the worry process that is associated with different disorders, such as social anxiety, depression and, especially, generalized anxiety disorder. In the present work, the Therapy focused on the reduction of threat perception (TFRTP) is described as an intervention proposal for pathological worry based on the PAMTA model, which sequentially describes different steps to carry out the worry process in an adaptive way and points out different aspects that can make it dysfunctional. Likewise, different proposed acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) strategies are used. The most novel aspects of the proposed treatment are: 1) it provides a guide to worry adaptively, 2) it places particular emphasis on reducing the perception of threat, in which strategies such as cognitive implosion and radiating circumference are used, and 3) The use of ACT to cope with cognitive fusion and promote psychological flexibility. Finally, some aspects of the intervention are discussed, and the need for further studies to study the efficacy of TFRTP is pointed out.
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