This week, care of Health Masters, I am delivering the first part of a 3 part webinar called ‘Clinical Case Analyses in Women with Anxiety’.
I originally wanted to call this brand new seminar series Dis-ease.
The idea was in response to the large number of female patients who come through my clinic door, presenting mostly self-diagnosed with anxiety. Some of these women absolutely do have anxiety disorders and both the aetiology & maintenance of these fit with the regular psycho-social theories, however, many of them, upon further investigation, have something biologically going on that constitutes a plausible alternative cause of their dis-ease.
That’s where the interesting journey begins as
- you start to identify what’s the physical source of sensations they have reinterpreted/translated as ‘anxiety’ and
- you start to address these physical drivers and relieve their negative psychological affect and then finally
- you see how the discovery and recognition of a biological rather than a purely psychological explanation behind their ‘anxiety’ challenges women to rethink their self-story.
It’s big and thrilling stuff to be a part of and one of the most satisfying aspects of my practice.
This is the latest instalment in mental health education from me but from an entirely fresh perspective.
I’ve buried my head in the journals & leant heavily on my colleague who’s a psychologist to bring to you the first instalment this week – understanding the long list of differentials for patients who present with anxiety and how to approach the work up.
The following two weeks are dedicated to presenting 2 amazingly anxious female patients of mine – with case summaries, all the pathology results etc. so that you can see the journey I took with them and why.
I hope to ‘see’ you there.
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