Are you ready to learn the difference between your intuition & anxiety?

Anxiety therapy in Seattle.

Online therapy for young adults experiencing anxiety, panic & obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

 

I know anxiety has made your life smaller.

Living with anxiety is physically painful. Some future thought triggers a tightening in your belly, an overall sense of doom & a burning sense in your chest. You not only expect the worst-case scenario to happen but fear this feeling will be permanent. This experience is so physically painful you have begun to avoid anything that delivers a hint of these sensations. As a result, your world has gotten smaller.

Anxiety & shame work hand-in-hand.

Ever felt like you are an inadequate human because you can’t “get this right.” If so, that core belief can travel into other areas of your life. This can also affect the way you interact with people & approach life challenges.

Anxiety can influence the direction your life leads. If we are afraid of feeling anything that provokes anxious feelings or thoughts, we can stay silent about important issues in our relationship, make safe decisions professionally, &/or stay locked in our own thoughts & out of the present moment. Being in thought disconnects us from ourselves. It reduces intimacy with our lived experience & our sense of worthiness.

Facing anxiety means stepping into the unknown with a sense that whatever happens, you will have the skills to figure it out. This is an empowering action.

Through work done in therapy, you will begin to intimately understand your experience of anxiety.

This is an entirely different approach than what you may be used to with avoidance & resentment. Instead, you will learn how to use curiosity during an anxious experience. It is through the lens of curiosity, that you can experience anxiety without over-identifying with what is happening.

WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER

  • INSIGHT

    Together, we will begin to understand where your anxiety originated & what else was going on in your life that likely compounded this anxious temperament. This is done with curiosity – as if we are two detectives trying to crack a case & collect evidence. This approach of looking at anxiety with a curious mind allows there to be more space between you & your anxious experience.

  • EDUCATION

    Anxiety is simply fear unchecked.  We are the type of people that would have survived the Stone Age because we always remembered which berry was poisonous, which human was volatile & which noises indicated danger. Education helps us to see anxiety as a natural response to an uncertain world. This piece helps to change our relationship with anxiety from resentment to resilience.

  • MINDFULNESS

    I will teach you how to go back into your body from the neck down. Anxiety is an extremely uncomfortable physical experience, which is why you will do everything to avoid its sensations. Through mindfulness, you will slowly learn to tolerate the sensations & corresponding thoughts so that your brain can understand that you are in the driver’s seat & let you move forward.

  • SELF-COMPASSION

    Anxious people tend to be incredibly hard on themselves. They want so desperately to be “normal.” It’s hard to remember that you too are also normal. Self-compassion is often an overlooked tool but can be a total game-changer. Self-compassion is simply caring about your own suffering. It’s turning the care & love you probably give to everyone else back to yourself.

Anxiety takes form in many shapes.

  • Panic Attacks

    Panic attacks are extremely uncomfortable & we can alter our entire lives to avoid having them again. Being afraid of another panic attack, is often how this one event can turn into a disorder. Learning how to manage an attack & living with their occasional visits is possible through therapy.

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

    This can look like behaviors that I can see (e.g.: Google searching physical health symptoms) &/or behaviors in your mind that I can’t see (e.g.: disturbing racial/sexual/homophobic, thoughts, etc.). OCD is treatable through therapy that includes education, tolerating uncomfortable sensations, & possibly medication.

  • Social Anxiety

    If you are deeply afraid of being judged by others so much that you avoid social settings, this could be social anxiety. Thankfully, this is completely treatable if we can process where this fear of judgment comes from & slowly start integrating social interactions that are within your threshold & gradually work to increase this capacity.

Anxiety therapy will help you…

 

  • Change your relationship with anxiety from resentment to appreciation

  • Utilize mindfulness & self-compassion to work through anxious moments

  • Establish & enforce boundaries that support your well-being

  • Discern the difference between healthy fear & unchecked anxiety

  • Get to know your “anxiety story” & what triggers anxiety in the present

  • Learn to let anxiety flow so that it can move through your nervous system instead of getting trapped

  • Realize you can live a healthy & whole life even if anxiety shows up from time to time

Common questions about anxiety counseling

  • It’s all about our connection. That is the most consistent indicator of the best outcome for therapy. During our initial consultation, we will both get an idea if we are a good fit.

    Therapy with me is tailored to you. Some people need to process more which means I will listen & provide occasional feedback. Other people prefer our interaction to be more of a back & forth; which means I talk more. Getting to know you, means that I am also assessing how you best process information & at your optimal pace. It will take time to build trust, but once we have that, it often flows easily from there.

    Working with me means we will also take a look at your overall daily functioning. I will get to know your thoughts on spirituality, how you spend your time recreationally, the quality of your sleep, your hopes for the future, etc.

    This allows you to move from a life that feels like you are surviving to one where you are thriving.

  • Yes! I have done therapy both in-person & online, so I come to this conclusion with experience & confidence. Online can actually move therapy along at a faster pace. When you come to therapy in your own environment you aren’t adapting to “my” space. You don’t have to put on the typical mask of being out in public. This subtle change makes a huge difference in therapy.

    I also believe in simplifying your routine & schedule, which goes along with self-care & reducing extra stressors (such as commuting, interacting with the public, time management, etc.). Furthermore, online therapy is proven to be just as effective as in-person.

  • Not at all. Medication can be hugely effective for those struggling with chronic anxiety but it’s a personal choice. If you are open to medication - awesome, we can talk about it & I can help with your next steps. If you are curious about medication - no problem, I can answer any of your questions. And if you are a hard no - I am here to support that too.

    Medication can be a support but is not an essential piece to recovery. I have worked successfully treating anxiety with many individuals who have chosen not to take medication & instead choose to address their anxiety through mindfulness, breath work, self-care, nutrition, exercise & of course - ongoing therapy.

  • Click this link to schedule a free 20- minutes consultation with me. If we decide that we are a good fit, we will get you scheduled within a week. If not, no worries, I will send you other therapists that could be a great fit too!

Anxiety no longer gets to be in the driver’s seat, running your life. From now on, you get to be the one that decides how your life moves forward.