Anxiety Therapy

Anxiety is a natural response to stress, but when it becomes persistent and overwhelming, it transitions from a protective mechanism to a disruptive force. It’s more than just feeling nervous; it’s a condition characterized by a pervasive feeling of dread or unease about an uncertain future event. If you recognize yourself in these common presentations, professional therapy can help:

Common Types of Anxiety We Treat:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Persistent, excessive worry about everyday things, even when there is little reason to worry.
• Social Anxiety Disorder: Intense fear of being judged, scrutinized, or humiliated in social situations.
• Panic Disorder: Characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks—sudden, intense feelings of fear or terror.
• Phobias: Specific, intense fears of objects or situations (e.g., flying, heights, spiders).

 

Anxiety & Its Symptoms

Anxiety manifests in both mental and physical ways. While not everyone experiences all signs, common symptoms include:

• Persistent worry and restlessness: Feeling on edge, irritable, or keyed up, with a constant sense of impending doom.
• Physical symptoms: Headaches, fatigue, muscle tension, stomach issues, and difficulty sleeping (insomnia).
• Panic attacks: Sudden onset of intense fear, often accompanied by a rapid heart rate, sweating, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
• Avoidance behaviors: Actively avoiding places, people, or activities out of fear that they will trigger anxiety or panic.

 

My approach is personalized, insightful, and focused on sustainable recovery. I utilize a relational and trauma-informed lens to ensure you feel safe and supported throughout your therapeutic journey.

My goal is to help you:

• Understand Your Anxiety: Gain clarity on what happens physiologically and emotionally during anxiety and stress responses.
• Identify Root Causes: Work to identify and resolve underlying emotions, past experiences, or core beliefs that contribute to your anxiety.
• Develop Control: Learn practical, immediately applicable ways to be calm, grounded, and fully in control of your emotional state.
• Integrate Skills: Move beyond coping mechanisms to create fundamental shifts in how you process fear and uncertainty.

Anxiety is highly treatable. We utilize a variety of modern, effective therapeutic approaches tailored to your specific needs and anxiety presentation.

Commonly Used Treatments for Anxiety:

 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A cornerstone of anxiety treatment, CBT helps you identify negative thought patterns, challenge the validity of those thoughts, and replace them with more balanced, realistic perspectives, thereby reducing anxiety-producing behaviors.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): This approach teaches you to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them. By clarifying your personal values, we help you commit to actions that move your life forward, even in the presence of anxiety.
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): We integrate mindfulness meditation techniques to help you stay present, observe your thoughts without judgment, and significantly reduce overall stress and anxiety levels.
• Exposure Therapy: A specific type of CBT where you are gradually and safely exposed to the situations or objects that trigger your anxiety, helping to retrain your brain’s fear response.
• Holistic Approaches: Complementary practices like grounding techniques, body-centered work, breathwork, yoga, and art therapy are integrated as supplements to traditional talk therapy to foster mind-body connection.

Learn more about recommended treatments for Anxiety at the American Psychological Association.