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Table of Contents
Anxiety Therapists

TABLE OF CONTENTS

https://www.onlinetherapy.com

I. Understand Anxiety Therapy

Therapy for anxiety helps manage persistent feelings of worry and fear that may interfere with your work, school, and personal life. It’s useful for treating any level of anxiety, including severe distress that may indicate a mental health disorder.

"Anxiety as a mental health condition is very common and very treatable when working with a licensed therapist trained to treat anxiety disorders to address these concerns," says Bridget Russell, LCSW.

People often seek counseling to learn coping strategies to reduce the constant feeling of being on edge. You may need to speak to a therapist if these feelings are ongoing and impact how you function every day.

The right therapist can help you understand the underlying cause of this tension so that you can take steps to manage it. Approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help recognize and change your thinking patterns, and these techniques can help reduce anxious feelings.

What you should know about therapy for anxiety:

  • What’s it like to undergo therapy for anxiety?
  • What can a therapist who specializes in therapy help with?
  • How to find the best anxiety therapists near you
  • How can you prepare for anxiety therapy?

II. What's it like to undergo therapy for anxiety?

Those who have anxiety disorders experience distress that’s so acute or exaggerated that they worry all the time, even when there’s no obvious cause for concern. You may want to consider counseling if you’re having trouble managing these feelings on your own.

Therapy can help you with any anxiety, but it’s particularly important if you have an anxiety disorder. This disorder is characterized by a significant level of distress that shows no sign of improvement and affects how you function on a daily basis. Signs of a disorder include:

  • Anxious thoughts, worries, and beliefs that are difficult to control and get worse over time
  • Physical symptoms, such as rapid heart beat, sweating, shortness of breath and panic attacks
  • A change in your routine or behavior to avoid anxiety like withdrawal from social activities

Counseling for anxiety involves working with a mental health professional to change the thought patterns causing your anxiousness. You learn strategies to reshape your thinking so that your anxiety doesn’t interfere with your job, school, and social life.

The most common treatment for anxiety is psychotherapy, which can include therapeutic approaches, such as cognitive behavioral, exposure, and acceptance and commitment therapies. Therapy usually occurs one-on-one with a health care professional, although group counseling may be appropriate in some cases. Prescription medications may also be recommended. While counseling usually leads to the best outcomes, self-care options like exercise and meditation can help reduce stress outside of counseling sessions.

III. How to find an anxiety therapist

Therapy is most successful when it’s collaborative, so take the time to find a therapist who you trust and is qualified to help meet your counseling goals. You may want to speak with several therapists near you to find one who’s the best fit for your needs.

Therapy involves discussing your fears and worries, so you need to feel safe opening up about these subjects, including how your anxiety affects your day-to-day life. This likely means finding a therapist with whom you have a rapport. If you feel more at ease with a therapist of a similar age, gender, sexuality, or faith, you can take this into consideration. However, these factors don’t affect a therapist’s skills or experience, so you may not want to rule someone out for these reasons.

When looking for a mental health professional, ask about their training, credentials, and licensing. You should check how long they’ve been practicing, and the type of experience they’ve had. Some may specialize in certain anxiety disorders. It’s important to know if they can prescribe medications in addition to providing counseling services. This is only something that a licensed psychiatrist can provide who holds a medical degree. If your therapist doesn’t have a medical degree, they can make recommendations to explore the potential for medication with your primary care doctor or psychiatrist.

Be sure to get a sense of the treatment plan recommended by a therapist ahead of time, including frequency and duration of sessions, and cost. If the therapist doesn’t accept your insurance plan, ask if they offer a payment plan option or a sliding scale fee schedule. You’ll want to ensure that the cost of counseling fits in your budget.

You should also find a licensed mental health professional who offers services that fit within your lifestyle.  Someone with a very active, busy lifestyle may find it hard to commit to a weekly, in-person, counseling session.  Many anxiety counselors now offer telehealth options, which may be the best fit for your situation.  Online therapy, while relatively new, has been proven effective time and time again in the mental health counseling field, with therapists being able to treat a wide range of disorders for clients both near and far.

IV. What does an anxiety therapist help with?

Anxiety can be a normal reaction to stress, but when it’s severe and persistent, it interferes with daily life. Patients often seek help from therapists for managing anxiety disorders, such as:

  • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Those with this disorder have excessive, chronic worry even when there’s no apparent reason for concern.
  • Panic disorder: This disorder is characterized by sudden, intense fear that results in panic attacks. It can cause symptoms including shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and chest pain.
  • Social anxiety disorder: Those with this disorder dread being criticized, judged, or embarrassed in front of others. Symptoms include nausea, sweating, rapid heart rate, and anxiety attacks. It can also result in individuals avoiding other people and self-isolating.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): This disorder can occur after experiencing a frightening, life-threatening event. It can cause nightmares, flashbacks, and depression.
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Those with OCD experience unwanted, disturbing, or frightening thoughts. They perform repetitive behaviors to try to control their anxious thoughts.
  • Specific phobias: Some anxiety disorders are triggered by a specific fear, such as heights, spiders, storms, flying, or small spaces.

V. How can you prepare for therapy for anxiety?

To get the most out of your first counseling session, take time to think about your situation so that you can give your therapist as much information as possible to develop a treatment plan. Take notes so that you won’t forget details to bring up in your session. Here are some key points to consider:

  • What thoughts or worries do you have?
  • Are you experiencing symptoms when you’re anxious, such as a rapid heartbeat or trembling?
  • When did you first notice your anxiety?
  • Has it gotten worse over time?
  • Are there specific situations or events that cause your anxiety?
  • How long does the anxious episode last?
  • Does anything make it better?
  • How does it affect you at school or work and in your social life and relationships?
  • What would you like to accomplish in therapy?
  • What would your life look like without anxiety?

Include any questions you have about how counseling works and your therapist’s approach.

Perhaps the most important way to prepare yourself is to be open and honest. It may be uncomfortable, but the more forthright you are, the better your anxiety therapist can help.

VI. What are anxiety therapy treatments?

The most common treatments for anxiety are psychotherapy — known as talk therapy — and medication. Here are different types of therapeutic treatments for anxiety:

Treatment Description
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) A type of psychotherapy that focuses on the thought patterns that cause anxiety. It’s based on the theory that people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all interconnected. Inaccurate thinking, such as jumping to conclusions, can lead to fear and anxiety. By understanding and challenging this distorted thinking, you can change how you think and feel.
Exposure therapy A type of cognitive behavioral therapy most often used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias. Many people whose anxieties stem from fears tend to avoid situations that can make them worse. Exposure therapy aims to reduce your apprehension by  creating a safe environment in which to “expose” you to the things you generally try to avoid. This systematic desensitization involves controlled sessions where you intentionally face your specific phobia in controlled amounts.  Over time, it can help reduce your unease with that fear and decrease your avoidance of it.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) This type of therapy focuses on changing how you relate to your thoughts and feelings through mindfulness and acceptance. You can then look at your anxiety differently and learn skills to change your behavior according to your values and how you want to live your life.
Medication Medication can ease some of the symptoms of anxiety. It doesn’t resolve all symptoms, so it’s usually used in conjunction with psychotherapy. Commonly prescribed anxiety medications include antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and beta blockers.

VII. What else can help?

While counseling and medication are the main forms of treatment for anxiety, self-care can help reduce your overall discomfort and enhance your well-being.

  • Physical activity, such as exercise, yoga, and tai chi, reduces the level of stress hormones in the body and increase endorphins that helps lift mood
  • Meditation can boost calmness and relieve anxious thoughts, depression, and insomnia
  • Mindfulness is a type of meditation that can help you bring thoughts into the present, instead of worrying about the past and future
  • Mental health apps can be downloaded onto your smartphone to remind you to check on your thinking and relax throughout the day
author-img
Bridget Russell
LCSW

Bridget Russell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of California with specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and managing chronic health conditions. She is a senior manager of oncology patient access at Amgen in Los Angeles. Russell received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from California State University Northridge in 2011 and her master’s degree in mental health and medical social work from University of Washington in 2015. She’s been a social worker since 2015.

After her master’s program, Russell worked as an inpatient and outpatient medical social worker at a Level 1 Trauma hospital helping patients and families navigate health and mental health challenges. She provided psychosocial support and also enabled patients with therapeutic techniques and strategies to address medical and emotional trauma as well as grief and loss.

Russell works in the patient engagement space, creating patient support programs to help people access necessary support during their oncology journey. She also works in private practice as a telehealth therapist, specializing in helping adults navigate job and relationship stress, new life transitions, and managing ongoing anxiety and depression. Her mission is to empower her clients to live productive and healthy lives while growing into the best versions of themselves based on their values, goals, and aspirations.

author-img
Bridget Russell
LCSW

Bridget Russell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of California with specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and managing chronic health conditions. She is a senior manager of oncology patient access at Amgen in Los Angeles. Russell received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from California State University Northridge in 2011 and her master’s degree in mental health and medical social work from University of Washington in 2015. She’s been a social worker since 2015.

After her master’s program, Russell worked as an inpatient and outpatient medical social worker at a Level 1 Trauma hospital helping patients and families navigate health and mental health challenges. She provided psychosocial support and also enabled patients with therapeutic techniques and strategies to address medical and emotional trauma as well as grief and loss.

Russell works in the patient engagement space, creating patient support programs to help people access necessary support during their oncology journey. She also works in private practice as a telehealth therapist, specializing in helping adults navigate job and relationship stress, new life transitions, and managing ongoing anxiety and depression. Her mission is to empower her clients to live productive and healthy lives while growing into the best versions of themselves based on their values, goals, and aspirations.

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VIII. Sources

For additional information about anxiety therapy, check out the sources we used in this guide.

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