Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety Therapy
Finding Calm, Clarity, and Confidence
Anxiety can feel like a storm that never quite settles — racing thoughts, tightness in the chest, restlessness, or the constant hum of “what if?” in the background of everyday life. While anxiety is a normal part of being human, chronic or overwhelming anxiety can take a toll on your health, relationships, and sense of peace.
In my practice, I offer Anxiety Therapy in Santa Barbara that combines evidence-based techniques, mindfulness, and compassionate insight to help you understand and manage anxiety from the inside out.
You don’t have to live in constant fight-or-flight mode. Together, we can help your nervous system settle, your mind soften, and your confidence return.
Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety shows up differently for everyone. It may look like overthinking, irritability, difficulty sleeping, or physical tension. It can also take the form of panic attacks, perfectionism, social fear, or constant worry about the future.
At its core, anxiety is the body’s way of saying, “I’m not safe.” Sometimes that message is rooted in past trauma or stress; other times, it’s tied to perfectionism, uncertainty, or pressure to perform.
Therapy provides a space to listen to what your anxiety is trying to tell you — and to respond with understanding rather than judgment.
What Anxiety Therapy Can Help With
Anxiety counseling can support you in addressing:
Generalized Anxiety and excessive worry
Panic attacks or physical symptoms of fear
Social Anxiety and fear of rejection or embarrassment
Performance or work-related stress
Health anxiety and obsessive thinking
Perfectionism, self-doubt, and over-responsibility
Burnout and chronic tension
Anxiety linked to trauma or life transitions
Whatever form anxiety takes, therapy helps you untangle its roots and create a new relationship with it — one grounded in self-compassion and regulation.
A Humanistic, Person-Centered Approach to Anxiety
I believe that healing anxiety starts with genuine connection. In Humanistic, Person-Centered Therapy, the relationship between therapist and client is the foundation for change. You are seen, heard, and accepted exactly as you are — not as a problem to be fixed, but as a person learning to understand your own inner world.
We’ll explore the deeper meanings behind your anxiety, how it has served you in the past, and what it may be protecting you from. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, clarify your needs, and develop skills for self-soothing and self-trust.
The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety entirely — it’s to change your relationship with it, so it no longer runs the show.
Trauma-Informed Care for Anxiety
Many people who experience chronic anxiety have a history of trauma or prolonged stress that keeps their nervous system on high alert. Through a trauma-informed lens, we understand anxiety as the body’s adaptive response to past threat, rather than a personal flaw.
In therapy, I help you:
Identify and reduce triggers that activate anxiety
Use grounding and body-based regulation tools
Build tolerance for uncertainty and emotional intensity
Develop a sense of internal and relational safety
By building safety first, we create the conditions for the nervous system to finally rest — and for deeper healing to take place.
Evidence-Based and Evidence-Informed Tools
Your anxiety treatment will be personalized, drawing from approaches proven to reduce anxiety symptoms and build resilience.
Depending on your needs, we may integrate:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to reframe anxious thinking patterns
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for awareness and calm
Somatic techniques for nervous system regulation
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you live aligned with your values, not your fears
Self-compassion and emotion regulation skills to foster gentleness with yourself
Each session balances insight with action — helping you both understand your anxiety and feel equipped to manage it day to day.
Somatic and Mindfulness Approaches
Anxiety is not just mental — it’s physical. The body often carries the imprint of fear long after the mind has “moved on.”
Through Somatic Therapy, you’ll learn to notice how anxiety lives in your body — maybe as a clenched jaw, shallow breath, or tight chest — and how to gently release that tension.
Mindfulness helps you return to the present moment, so you can respond to stress rather than react from it. Together, somatic awareness and mindfulness teach your nervous system that it is safe to relax — and remind you that peace is possible, even in uncertainty.
Animal-Assisted Support for Anxiety
Sophie, my certified therapy dog, is often present in sessions to help create calm, connection, and grounding. For many clients, her presence offers comfort and helps ease the physiological symptoms of anxiety — lowering heart rate, reducing tension, and inviting a sense of safety.
Animal-Assisted Therapy can be especially helpful when anxiety makes emotional expression difficult. Sophie helps model nonjudgment, acceptance, and the gentle pace that healing often requires.
How Anxiety Therapy Works
Our work together begins with curiosity and collaboration. You set the pace. Therapy is a partnership — we’ll explore both practical coping strategies and the deeper emotional patterns that feed anxiety.
Over time, you’ll begin to notice:
A quieter inner critic
Less physical tension
More restful sleep
Greater ability to focus
A sense of control and choice over your thoughts and reactions
More moments of calm, confidence, and connection
Anxiety may not disappear overnight, but with the right tools and support, it becomes manageable — even meaningful.
Who Can Benefit
Anxiety therapy can help if you:
Feel constantly “on edge” or overthink everything
Experience panic attacks or physical anxiety symptoms
Struggle with people-pleasing or fear of disapproval
Have difficulty relaxing or feel unsafe when things are calm
Feel stuck between wanting control and wanting freedom
You are not broken — your anxiety is a sign of your system trying to protect you. With therapy, we can help it find a gentler way to keep you safe.
My Commitment as Your Therapist
My approach is integrative, gentle, and tailored to your needs. I’ll meet you with presence, respect, and care — no judgment, no pressure, and no rush.
You deserve to live with ease and to trust yourself again.
Together, we’ll help you understand the language of your anxiety — and find your way back to peace, confidence, and balance.
Next Step
If you’re seeking anxiety therapy in Santa Barbara, I would be honored to support you.
Whether you’re struggling with panic attacks, social anxiety, or the quiet hum of constant worry, healing begins with understanding — and you don’t have to do it alone.
Let’s work together to bring calm where there’s tension, and clarity where there’s confusion.