Real Therapist Fake Therapy #1: Anxiety Treatment

[@tealparadise]

"what am I paying you for" lmao too real

[@drali]

Nearly every line in this script has at some point been said in my office by me or someone I work with (minus the jokes about KZbin).

[@franciscozamorano6807]

I'm also a psychologist using CBT with my patients, and I really enjoy your content. Great quality, nice clear format and explanations. Keep up the good work!

[@drali]

Aww this is the best feedback! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. It helps me to keep making more videos!

[@Prajjwalempire0]

plzz help me I am ocd patient

[@dhruvivora9763]

Wow. It's a helpful idea to create fake therapy with real and meaningful content.

[@drali]

Thanks for the feedback! I wanted to make this first episode to see if the concept works. Seems like from the initial response people do like the format and I'll keep them coming!

[@dhruvivora9763]

@@drali sure thank you

[@linkalipski]

I think this is a great idea for trainee therapist too. As a way to note the helpful things to say or how to manage certain reactions.

[@drali]

Great feedback! I didn't think of this as a possible learning aid for therapists. With that in mind I'll try to incorporate more difficult to answer concerns that patients might bring up. Thanks for your comment!

[@linkalipski]

great! looking forward to it@@drali

[@mendozajohnpatrick3720]

@@drali please make more of this pleaseeeee

[@branzombie]

thanks for recognizing the risk we who seek help assume. it's hard to swallow when everyone thinks you are weak or foolish for seeking help.

[@drali]

What do you want to see next on Real Therapist Fake Therapy?

[@drali]

Great suggestion! There is a lot you can do for ADHD outside of medication.

[@madeleinerichardson312]

PTSD and ASD have really interested me in my classes! I’d like to see more of what that looks like!

[@drali]

Great suggestions!!! Thank you!

[@Moorddeus]

Eating disorder therapy please

[@dhruvivora9763]

A topic could be: trying hard each time to FIND motivators to end or lessen procrastination and not undoing the same process.

[@frasatkanwal7874]

Your videos help me a lot to understand therapy even better. Thank you

[@evacsupor]

That's one of my favourite videos so far... I hope that many people will watch it and when they come to therapy they will know what to expect.

[@drali]

Thank you so much for your supportive feedback! There will be many more "sessions" to come. Hope to have session #2 up next week.

[@user-op9gk1sn2k]

He said it perfectly. It's somthing we all have to deal with, some people have just never learned how. If a doctor plans to medicate you for anxiety without end, you should find a new doctor. To many people use anxiety as an excuse.

[@laurenknickerbocker8246]

Ali, this is genius, great resource! The work you put in is evident!

[@SynthApprentice]

Five examples of anxiety from my week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday... Oh, wait, that's six.

[@drali]

This made me chuckle when I read it 😆

[@kpmallon]

This was really good. I like the format; it may help people see that therapy doesn't need to be scary.

[@ip-l934]

This is a great format. it may help a lot in a more direct way for those people who want to know what happens in sessions. This short kind of "sinopsis" way its great. And also, 10/10 acting, would cast again lol

[@drali]

Haha, glad the acting worked! Playing the part of the therapist was super easy as I do it all day long. I'm hoping the videos give people a good sense of what happens in therapy AND are also a good reference for people to remember what they discussed in therapy.

[@threeofreeds73]

Informative AND entertaining, thanks once again!

[@drali]

Yaaaay!!!! That’s what I was going for!!!!

[@xppws]

This is awesome! Thanks a lot!

[@drali]

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@DrAdnan]

I’ve always wondered since people just say “CBT” but don’t talk about the specifics

[@drali]

You’ll see a lot more about cognitive behavioral therapy in this series!!!

[@emiliam778]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[@drali]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheMoonlightArtist]

Okay instantly happy I found this channel. As someone with anxiety this is very interesting and that test.. I would love to take that.

[@Kleem_D3ayshi]

This was so insightful. Thank you

[@drali]

So glad it was helpful!

[@Kleem_D3ayshi]

@@drali can you please do something related to text or phone counselling next?

[@josephcoon5809]

In my amateur research, I’ve come to understand anxiety as a collaboration between the amygdala and various other portions of the brain. While the anxiety circuits are inherent, most ideas that activate that circuit are learned associations: offensive words, inconsiderate actions of others, daily necessities for living and thriving. I see those associations as neural links between the amygdala and the associated region of the brain that processes the learned trigger. Consciously processing that trigger without keeping the thought consciously within the cortex allows the connecting neurons to grow dendritic and axonal terminal mass resulting in lower and lower activation thresholds. Conversely, addressing the trigger, but rationalizing it creates neural connections to other regions within the cortex. This manifests, conceptually, as a choice to either wallow in the emotion, or begin a cognitive exercise that may begin with, “Is this emotion necessary?” Conceptually addressing the trigger allows the critical connections to reinforce while the connections to the amygdala atrophy; or pruning as I liked to call it in my early thirties. I hypothesize that the activation threshold between a trigger neuronal assembly and the amygdala is directly proportional to the strength and duration of the activating stimulus whether it be an external stimulus from the senses or internal cognitive stimulus of brooding. This would explain similarities between a patient with lifelong anxiety issues and a patient suffering from PTSD. The total amount of energy that went into reinforcing the neural connection would be the same between a gradual reinforcement over decades versus multiple bursts over a few months. As ideas and memories are comprised of various components, their storage and process within the mind is done in various regions of the brain. Therefore a complete idea such as a child would be connected to multiple regions in the brain, one of which being the amygdala to associate anxiety for their wellbeing. Every complete idea is tied to the amygdala in this way creating a web of connections that increase the chance the amygdala activates. Anytime one of those ideas activates, part of the activation energy makes it to the amygdala. Depending on that energy, the amygdala activates. The more connections to the amygdala there are, the higher the likeliness it will activate. When it activates, it may activate all its connections to every other idea connected to it. This wave of activations and reflected activations manifests as a nervous breakdown or anxiety attack. If this is so, it seems that pruning connections to the amygdala is the path to a “cure.” For every idea that is tied to the amygdala, they are also tied to other ideas. Any one of those ideas in that web has a certain chance of starting the cascade. I suppose blocking the neurotransmitters associated with the amygdala is the chemical solution, whereas philosophical/psychological/psychiatric exercises are the cortical solutions. Things like daily affirmations, sublimation, neural feedback, and cognitive exercises work by using the consciousness to reassociate triggers to other portions of the brain. Depending on the idea, the association may be strong (robust neural connection with a low activation potential) or weak (flimsy neural connection with a high activation threshold). Using a gym as an analogy for brain training, lifting the five pound weights on your first day is akin to reassociating the weaker triggers that manifest as annoyance. Learning to manage your lesser annoyances gives your brain the skills to manage stronger annoyances. As each level of annoyance is conquered, the correct brainwaves/neural connections are reinforced making each successive level of annoyance easier to manage. Also, like the gym, coaching to get started is important to develop the correct form to decrease the chances of injury. Likewise, coaching in behavioral adjustment is just as important. Starting with the stronger anxieties too early is just as dangerous as starting with overly heavy weights early on. Lastly, just like at the gym, breathing is extremely importants. Breathe.

[@grahamwalker2168]

Thanks Dr Tim

[@drali]

He was a great mentor!

[@grahamwalker2168]

The Psych Show Now you’re a great mentor

[@nathaliec1662]

You are incredible and hilarious, thank you so much for taking the time in making these videos. I'm a psychology student and this has helped me!

[@TSBoncompte]

see, i'm instantly glad i found this channel

[@drali]

Thanks for being a part of our community!!!

[@evercuriousmichelle]

I've found acceptance and commitment therapy to really help me with my anxiety. :)

[@drali]

So glad it has been helpful for you! ACT helped me finish grad school and I use many aspects of it in my work now. I think acceptance and values clarification could make for great episodes of this series.

[@destanbrahimi8367]

Whats the therapyes?

[@halssseaarnold3341]

This is awesome awesome awesome! One day I hope I can be a neuropsychologist, your videos have really inspired me to think about AP psychology as a passion instead of just another GPA booster. Thank you(:

[@drali]

Thank you so much for your kind and supportive message! If you're interested in what neuropsychologists do, definitely check out The Employables on A&E starting this upcoming Wednesday at 10pm. You'll see me and a two other psychologists use neuropsychological tests to help people understand their strengths.

[@BlackHayateTheThird]

Love it! I even laughed when you did Star Wars voices. It's very engaging and informative (as well as fun!). One thing as someone from film- don't be afraid to use set pieces and chairs (it makes the environment more interesting) and also please face your characters with at least a 3/4 view so we can see your forward-looking face. It's easier to distinguish facial expressions and read the lips. The way you can do this is the Therapist can be 3/4 turned to their left and the Patient/Client 3/4 turned to their right (so basically like your video, but too much in the extreme- the Therapist was basically 90 the whole time. You actually want your characters to stay within the 30-40 degree turned from straight on so the audience can see expressions, reactions, and lip movement).

[@drali]

This is SUPER helpful feedback! I think you’re right. Especially with the therapist character the viewer doesn’t see enough. I’ll def apply your feedback in the next video! Thanks again!!!

[@miniciominiciominicio]

Damn, that was amazingly innovative and useful. Thank you.

[@drali]

YAY!!! Your comment just made my day. I'm definitely going to make more. Session #2 will be out next week.

[@mikel1888]

Beautiful vid!

[@destanbrahimi8367]

Im telling you that I have a bad children story in shcoool I have a lot of bulizem people laughing with me and play kick me etc... and have fear in home cuz my father drunk.... and here I am today with phobia that I dont go ouy of my house cuz a have social anxiety disorder, pleass dr ali mattu give me an idea how to get rid of this cuz its destroyig my life I cant feel the world I feel only fear

[@ProfOzone]

This is a great idea! I hope you'll allow me to offer a suggestion... in your edits, have the audio of person A start before you actually cut to the video of person A, and the same for when you're about to cut to person B. Not a lot of audio, just a very tiny bit. This will help the interaction seem more like it's two people instead of one person playing two parts. For a good example of how this is done, search for the Screen Rant channel and look at the Pitch Meeting videos. Notice how you hear a character talking for a tiny bit before the video cuts to the character, and notice how it helps.

[@drali]

This is FANTASTIC feedback! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I'll def agree that this could help with this format and I'll apply it towards my next "session". Thanks William!

[@ProfOzone]

@@drali You're welcome, Good Sir!

[@drali]

Also, I totally binge watched a ton of "Pitch Meeting" videos last night. OMG I love them so much! The recent Marvel movie ones were especially good. Thanks for introducing me to these videos!

[@ProfOzone]

@@drali Don't mention it! It was super easy. Barely an inconvenience.

[@drali]

Totally applied all your advice in my new video. Hope you like it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/boSbZoKQYpZlZsk

[@shanaazbegum6607]

Wow ... the best one😊

[@drali]

Glad you enjoyed it!!!

[@cortezfilms8511]

" phphphphp I don't know" pretty much my go to answer to everything question my siblings ask me

[@machame738]

Hello sir, is part of having an anxiety is not being able to go out of house for days and not being able to do task.

[@machame738]

I don't know if I have depression or anxiety, I've been having a certain situation/condition for years now

[@horacerumay5351]

I am taking up my masters in psych. This coming june. ❤️❤️

[@berritandersen288]

Love it!

[@drali]

Thank you!

[@katheriner10]

Damn this was such a good video!

[@drali]

THANK YOU!!!! Glad to hear the format is resonating!

[@EZEEKEEL]

I use being anxious on the edge of a cliff as being healthy and helpful, but I also live close to the Grand Canyon. 🤣

[@sophie-fm9sz]

love this

[@drali]

Thank you!!!!

[@kadencefoster5762]

wow. wow wow wow wow wow. This gives me hope that I can find a good therapist. I have had no success yet finding a therapist and psychiatrist that is actively engaging in treatment with me. Just more perscriptions, and inpatient hospital cycles, with whenever i get out, it's just about preventing crisis and not getting better. I've been wanting to do more than just talk about my day and talk about coping skills I don't use in the moment. I want to follow a treatment plan, have homework to do, understand my past, have a freaking diagnosis that makes sense and is given to me by someone that has seen me long enough. It's exhausting not knowing why I'm on medications, and not having any treatment, constantly worried about a crisis around the corner. I just want real help. I'm working in the mental health field now, and it's been incredibly difficult to navigate a therapeutic mileau when I'm so unaware of my own mental health. I'd like to think I have the capability and willingness to change, I just need the help and structure to get me there. ...lowkey journal entry complete.... in essence, I never comment on youtube videos, but I felt it was important to say thank you for uploading this and for having this channel- seeing that model and the session you had and the way you laid out a plan for treatment and was so clear and was actually responsive was refreshing and gives me hope that things will change!

[@robossthinking1056]

This reminds me of my friend, Maria’s so much Taking us five minutes on a simple question 😂 He be going around it and stuff and not seeing that he is But I really love talking to him because he makes me think. He gets away with other people, but other people are the average people. I get this guy talking because I’m thinking

[@DocDoesGamingTV]

Initially thought this was going to be about pseudo-therapy, still really interesting though!

[@drali]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sticking around despite it being on a completely different topic.

[@WilliamShakspere]

someone gif this immediately 2:28

[@drali]

😂

[@miniciominiciominicio]

it needs the foghorn-like “whaaaaaaaat” to really land. this would be great for vine. rip

[@drecleopatra3999]

Love it

[@ozycuervo6506]

Good job I'd like to help you

[@branzombie]

the 2 hour assesment might as well not exist to us poor folk who only allowed 40 minute sessions. also it seems the test content is hidden behind some pay wall so of course, poors can't take the test in advance of thier appointment

[@branzombie]

if I did pay the paywall, took the test, recorded the answers, so as to try to allow my therapist time to review those results, things would go wrong. the therapist would tell me I paid for the wrong version, they do not utilize such a test in thier methodology, and how dare me to seek help outside the allocated session time. unfortunately for me, during that time nothing productive ever happens.

[@whoopsythere]

A BEAR?!

[@drali]

😳

[@Eleni.314]

Nice one! We all want to have a peek into sessions, hehe : ]

[@branzombie]

in case you're wondering, i came by this video from searching "is all therapy fake". from my perspective, therapy is as effective or perhaps less effective than dangerous cults, cigarette smoking, self mutilation, or any other option actually available to us 99percent of the world's poor who will never see access to therapy, let alone effective therapy.

[@SatoshiSky]

Hey Ali! It would be so cool if you reacted to the rap song Therapy Session by NF. [Pre-context: NF is a rapper who sings about the darker side of his life and uses his music as an outlet to work things out.]

[@drali]

That's a great idea! I've stayed away from reacting to music because it's harder to create reaction videos to music than it is TV/film on KZbin due to the way copyrights are implemented. While I can't play NF's music in my video I can use his lyrics. Do you think a reaction video that only includes lyrics would still work?

[@SatoshiSky]

The Psych Show Therapy Session would be much better with the video. But if it’s a video with lyrics “Intro 3” by him would be fantastic! This is a song where he is having a conversation with his fear (mainly his fear talking)

[@drali]

His lyrics are very powerful. I’ll def see if I can make a reaction video work. Copyright is going to be the challenge...