Therapy for Anxiety
“Anxiety” is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy, and one of the most misunderstood. In fact, the term “anxiety” is almost always used in a negative way, with the incorrect understanding that all anxiety is bad. Then the logical throughline is that if anxiety is bad, then we must get rid of it completely. The problem only happens when the anxiety is uncontrollable. For many people, anxiety is a constant hum in the background of daily life, shaping decisions, disrupting sleep, and making ordinary moments feel heavier than they should.
You might recognize it as the loop of "what ifs" that won't quiet down, no matter how many times you've run through every possibility. Or the dread before a meeting, a social event, speaking engagement, or a conversation you've been putting off. Maybe the physical tension you carry in your body so consistently that you've stopped noticing it. Anxiety is smart, and we have a response for an adaptive reason. It disguises itself as productivity, preparation, and responsibility, which is exactly why so many high-achieving people don't realize how much it's running the show. Maybe you talk yourself into thinking that you are only successful because of these anxiety linked behaviors.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is often conceptualized as “just a general feeling of anxiety”, which is incorrect. GAD is characterized by excessive, persistent worry that's out of proportion to the actual threat. People with GAD often find themselves in the "what if" trap: cycling through worst-case scenarios about their health, relationships, work, and future. The worry is hard to control and tends to show up across multiple areas of life, not just one.
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Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
Social Anxiety Disorder, also known as Social Phobia, goes beyond being shy or introverted. It involves an intense fear of social situations and of being judged, embarrassed, or negatively evaluated by others, often to the point of avoiding social situations. It can show up in meetings, on first dates, in group settings, or even in one-on-one conversations. Many people with social anxiety spend so much energy anticipating and recovering from social interactions that they gradually shrink their world to avoid the discomfort. In this way, the anxiety wins.
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Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder involves intense fear responses that arrive suddenly and feel completely disproportionate to what's actually happening. A panic attack can feel like a medical emergency, and the fear of having another one often leads to avoidance behaviors that begin to limit daily life. If you've started organizing your world around the possibility of a panic attack, that's worth addressing.
How Treatment Works
Anxiety treatment is active, not passive. We don't just talk about what makes you anxious. We work to understand the patterns driving it, challenge the thoughts that keep it going, and build a plan for responding differently. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), both of which are evidence-based approaches with strong track records for treating anxiety disorders.
CBT helps you recognize and reframe the thought patterns that fuel anxiety and then change the behaviors that keep fueling the anxiety. ACT helps you stop fighting your anxious thoughts and move toward what matters to you in spite of the uncomfortable feelings. In practice, most of our work will be concrete and skill-focused. You'll leave sessions with tools you can actually use.
What Progress Looks Like
You won't stop feeling anxious. That's not the goal and it's not realistic. The goal is to change your relationship with anxiety so it no longer drives your decisions. Clients often describe feeling like they have more mental space, more flexibility, and more confidence that they can handle what comes up. The "what ifs" don't disappear, but they stop having as much power.