Anxiety & Stress
Do you feel overwhelmed with the things you need to get done? Does your mind race when you’re trying to relax? Are you plagued with worry thoughts and worried about what other people think? Do you have uncomfortable physical symptoms such as headaches, rapid heartbeat, and tension?
Anxiety and Stress take a significant toll on our mental and physical resources and leave us drained and depleted. Many people feel it is just part of life and don’t realize that there is highly effective treatment for anxiety available.
Why Choose Me?
Anxiety is one of my specialties, and as a Cognitive Behavioral Psychologist, I have devoted a significant portion of my training and practice to addressing everything from stress management to anxiety disorders. I am not a generalist, and instead chose to focus in on anxiety and provide comprehensive and effective treatment in these and a few other areas.
If you are struggling with anxiety, you are probably already exhausted and depleted from managing the feelings and symptoms. The good news is that you don’t have to live this way! My goal is to reduce symptoms as quickly as possible while helping address the thoughts, fears, feelings, beliefs, and behaviors which give anxiety life.
Specialty Areas
How is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Stress Different?
There are many types of therapy available in psychology, and although I draw from many of them depending on the needs of my clients, I have found that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most effective way to help people struggling with anxiety. Many of my clients have tried counseling for anxiety and stress in the past, and one of the common complaints is that there was little guidance about what to do. When you are confronted with racing thoughts and frequent worries, it is very helpful to have concrete ways to address them and learn how to free yourself.
With anxiety, there are many things to work on and often homework to practice. As a Cognitive Behavioral Psychologist, I am very active in therapy and provide step by step treatment for addressing the anxiety that is interfering with your daily life. I provide a comprehensive approach tailored to each client which looks at the whole person and the environment.
Holistic Treatment
I value a holistic approach, which means that I always consider the multiple possible sources of common symptoms such as fatigue and headaches. Anxiety usually causes a whole host of physical symptoms which can be exhausting and sometimes feel alarming. This is your body doing its job when your mind is telling it there is something to be afraid of.
At times clients start out in their physician’s office because of the physical symptoms. It is important to get to know the physical symptoms of anxiety and what is causing them – just knowing this makes them much less scary. It is also really important to know if your physical symptoms might be worsened by another cause. More and more is being learned about the connection between the gut and the brain. Sometimes a food sensitivity could cause similar physical symptoms. Depending on what’s happening for you, we may consider food sensitivity testing to look at the impact of food sensitivities on your mood and energy.
What Happens When We Meet?
The first thing we will do together is form a warm and collaborative relationship. This is a safe space where you can relax and feel accepted. There is no judgment here. I always tell my clients you can come as you are and feel free to say anything. I am very down to earth and accepting.
After getting a better sense of what you’ve been going through and how anxiety affects your life, we will intervene on multiple levels to address several factors including the physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.
As an example of the cognitive, we will identify the things you might be saying to yourself that are causing anxiety – and we will put that anxious voice on notice! We will work hard and we will have fun, too. We will work together to help you feel better about yourself and your life, and learn how to relax in the world and feel more safe and secure.
Why Choose Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?
CBT is widely regarded as the most effective treatment for Anxiety and Stress. Quite a bit of research has been completed showing the effectiveness of this approach.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered the gold standard in the psychotherapeutic treatment of anxiety disorders and several meta-analyses and reviews of these meta-analytic findings regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of CBT have been published in recent years.”
Otte, Christian. (2011). Cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders: current state of the evidence. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 13(4), 413-421
