Anxiety Therapy in Los Angeles

Evidence-based treatment for children, teens, and adults experiencing worry, panic, and chronic stress.

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About Anxiety

Anxiety is Hard

Many clients come to therapy feeling like they should be able to "just relax" or "stop overthinking." Anxiety doesn’t work that way.

You might be here because:

  • Your mind races with worries that feel impossible to turn off, even when you know logically they're unlikely

  • You avoid situations like social events, phone calls, or new experiences because of dread or fear of judgment

  • You frequently experience physical symptoms like a racing heart, chest tightness, or stomach issues

  • You're constantly seeking reassurance from others or checking to make sure everything is okay

  • You feel on edge most of the time as if you're waiting for something bad to happen

  • You're exhausted from trying to control your thoughts and manage your worry alone

Common Signs & Symptoms

Everyone experiences worry. It's actually a helpful part of being human. Worry alerts us to potential problems and helps keep us safe. But when worry takes over and interferes with your daily life, this is when it can be considered clinical anxiety.

Mental and Emotional Symptoms:

  • Racing thoughts or constant worry about multiple areas of life

  • Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank

  • Irritability or feeling on edge

  • Fear of judgment or making mistakes

Physical Symptoms:

  • Muscle tension, headaches, or jaw clenching

  • Racing heart, chest tightness, or shortness of breath

  • Stomach issues, nausea, or digestive problems

  • Fatigue or difficulty sleeping despite being exhausted

The science

Understanding The Roots of Anxiety

Anxiety develops for many reasons. There are biological factors (some people have temperaments or a genetic predisposition that make them more prone to anxiety)), psychological factors (thinking patterns we learned early in life), and environmental factors (stress from work, relationships, major life changes, or past experiences).

Here's what's important: Anxiety is your nervous system's way of trying to protect you, even when that protection has become overactive. Understanding where your anxiety comes from and how it has kept you safe in the past can help us work together to address it in a way that makes sense for your unique experiences.

Our Method

Our Approach to Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety is maintained by the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Anxious thoughts create uncomfortable feelings, which lead to behaviors like avoidance or reassurance-seeking that provide short-term relief but keep anxiety going long-term. We use evidence-based methods to break this cycle.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

CBT focuses on the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. When you have an anxious thought like "What if I embarrass myself?", it creates uncomfortable feelings and leads to behaviors like avoidance or reassurance-seeking that provide short-term relief but keep anxiety going long-term. Together, we identify these patterns and build practical skills so anxious thoughts don't control your decisions. Most people notice improvement within 10-20 sessions.

Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy gradually exposes you to feared situations (social events, phone calls, crowded spaces) in a structured, collaborative way. Avoidance feels protective, but it keeps you from learning your true tolerance and prevents you from becoming desensitized to what feels overwhelming. We move at your pace, building confidence that you can handle difficult feelings. Over time, what once felt impossible becomes manageable.

Why Work with Us

What Makes Our Approach Different

While CBT is structured and skills-focused, we also work from a relational, attachment-informed lens. We're not just teaching techniques—we're working to understand why these particular worries have taken root and what keeps them in place.

The goal isn't just symptom relief. It's building tolerance of uncertainty, insight into your patterns, and skills that last beyond therapy.

the process

What to Expect

Getting Started

We start with a free 15-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit. You'll share what's bringing you to therapy and ask questions about our approach.

The work

Most sessions are 50 minutes and take place on weekly, though we can adjust frequency based on your needs. In each session, we'll focus on specific skills like identifying thought patterns, practicing grounding techniques, or planning exposure exercises.

Logistics

Anxiety treatment with CBT typically takes 12-20 sessions. Some people notice shifts in the first few weeks; more significant changes develop over a few months with consistent practice.

We offer in-person sessions in West Los Angeles and telehealth throughout California.

FAQ

Common Questions About Therapy for Anxiety

  • If anxiety is interfering with your daily life (your work, relationships, sleep, or ability to do things you want to do), therapy can help. You don't need to be in crisis or have a formal diagnosis. If you're reading this and thinking "This sounds like me," that's enough.

  • This is so common. Therapy isn't one-size-fits-all, and sometimes the approach or the fit with the therapist wasn't right. CBT for anxiety is highly structured and skills-focused, which can be a different experience from talk therapy. We'll also discuss what worked and what didn't in past therapy so we can tailor our approach.

  • Most people see noticeable improvement within 12-20 sessions when working with CBT for anxiety. It depends on the severity of your anxiety, how long you've been dealing with it, and how much practice you're able to do between sessions. We'll set goals together and check in regularly.

  • No, and that's actually not the goal. Some worry is normal and even helpful. The goal is to reduce excessive, unhelpful worry that's taking over your life and to give you tools to manage anxious thoughts when they show up. You'll learn when to listen to worry and when to recognize it's your anxiety talking.

  • That's perfectly fine, and you're not alone in feeling that way. Many clients share that this kept them from starting therapy soonerYou don't need to have everything figured out or be "ready enough" to reach out. Our consultation call is just a conversation. I'll guide it, and your only job is to show up and be honest about where you are.

Let’s connect.

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