Anxiety Therapy

Are You Tired Of Feeling Anxious?

Does uncontrollable worry interfere with your ability to have fun, cause unease at your job, in your social life, or in relationships with those closest to you? Do you run through worst-case, “what if” scenarios that make it hard to take action, make decisions, or sleep? Do you spend a lot of energy trying to control all that you can in order to reassure yourself that everything will be ok?

Experiencing some level of anxiety is normal and even useful; it’s the body’s natural way of alerting you to danger and keeping you safe. It can even motivate you to grow and make positive changes. But sometimes that warning system has trouble shutting off or accurately perceiving what is and is not a real threat, causing anxiety that feels unmanageable.

Distressing levels of anxiety can be fostered by childhood family dynamics, socio-cultural realities, and life changes. Growing up in a family environment that was chaotic, full of conflict, or one in which feelings were dismissed or ignored, are all factors that can contribute to unmanageable anxiety. Our culture’s overwhelming pressure to succeed and be happy, to measure up on social media, and to be fiercely independent, are also factors that contribute to anxiety. And sometimes a perfect storm of life changes and stressors can generate distressing levels of anxiety in a person who typically feels calm and able to control their worry.

A lot of people coping with distressing levels of anxiety can’t imagine a future in which they feel like everything is going to be okay. They look at other people who juggle responsibilities and have fun without worrying, and it feels like an impossible reality. But change is possible. Therapy can help you feel calmer, safer, happier, and more confident in your ability to handle whatever life throws at you.

Some Of The Tools I Use In Anxiety Therapy

In our work together I will draw upon a variety of approaches, taking into account which ones best meet your specific needs and which ones feel most useful to you.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a powerful method for treating anxiety that focuses on challenging and reframing inaccurate thoughts that fuel worry. Psychodynamic work allows us to follow the trail of anxiety and its symptoms back to its source in early life so we can treat the problem at its root. And if trauma is a contributing factor, we can use EMDR, a highly effective treatment for trauma that operates on a neurological level, stimulating your brain’s natural ability to heal itself.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Ego state work are methods that address the different parts of a person that may be at odds with each other. For instance, these techniques might be used to help resolve the conflict between a part of you that wants to run through worst-case, “what if” scenarios because it truly believes that is necessary to keep you safe, and another part of you that wishes you could just be present and imagine positive outcomes.

In addition to these more traditional psychotherapy tools, I have decades of experience studying and teaching yoga and meditation which enables me to incorporate mindfulness, breathing, and grounding techniques into our work, helping you more immediately manage your symptoms.

I know that it may seem impossible now, but you can get to a place where you feel optimistic and trust that everything will be okay. While anxiety therapy can’t transform the world into a perfectly safe place, it can empower you with the confidence that comes with knowing you can handle whatever comes your way.