It all depends on what you want. There are a variety of active therapies that include techniques to reduce your symptoms and learn ways to manage anxiety moving forward. Cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy are two major active anxiety therapies. Other methods, like exposure therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), are geared toward anxiety that's rooted in traumatic experiences.

Some people feel comfortable starting there and find that it is what they need. Other people might find that the techniques are not helping them heal and grow in the way they want. They are wanting deeper change that is long-lasting and helps get at long-standing patterns.

I practice psychoanalytic psychotherapy that is geared towards exactly that – helping individuals process and explore these underlying patterns. Doing this exploration helps deeper change take place. It can sometimes feel uncomfortable for someone who struggles with anxiety because it is not structured and does not readily help you feel in control.

However, I sometimes find that giving in to the desire for structure and control within therapy can reinforce anxious tendencies. Creating space for something different can help create the change you are looking for. I will help you through the process and we can take our time as you navigate uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.

You can learn about your investment here.

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It depends on if you are ready for the therapy process. Some people aren’t ready to make the commitment for weekly therapy and are more looking for self-help tools, which is completely okay. We are all in different places. If you are finding that you are ready to seek support from an anxiety therapist then therapy is a wonderful way to help heal from anxious patterns.

There's often a misconception that you must have significant mental health issues in order to start therapy. Thankfully, that's not the case. You don't need to wait until your mental health is "bad enough" to see a therapist. Even people with mild anxiety symptoms can benefit from anxiety treatment. If you're interested in trying therapy, I encourage you to try it.

Sometimes you can feel relief from anxiety within the first few sessions. Symptom reduction can happen between 8 sessions to 6 months of anxiety counseling. However, I find that long-standing change can take more than a year. It all depends on what you are looking for.

I want to note, every person will be anxious at some point. Therapy won’t eradicate anxiety altogether. However, therapy can help you change your relationship with anxiety. You can experience the anxious thought without it controlling the rest of your day.

Psychologists can provide you with psychotherapy or psychological testing. A psychiatrist often focuses on medication management, but there are some who also do therapy. People with anxiety may even elect to have both, a psychologist for therapy and a psychiatrist for medication management.

Your mental health care is a highly personal choice and while professionals can help you decide, you ultimately know yourself best. When trying to decide on a mental health provider, you can request a complimentary consultation to ask questions about each clinician's specific credentials, approach, and how they can help you. From here, you can choose what feels best.

Often times medication is optional and a personal choice. If you are not interested in medication, therapy can be effective in treating anxiety and improvement does not require medication. However, medication can also be very helpful in managing your anxiety if that is something you are interested in. Most research shows that medication should take place alongside therapy, as the medication is not an effective long-term solution to anxiety.

Some anxiety disorders may be hard to treat without medication (e.g., OCD). You may also consider medication if you have severe anxiety that has not improved with talk therapy alone in the past. If you are thinking about anti-anxiety medications but are not sure, I would be more than happy to talk through your options.

I am a virtual only practice, whic means I only offer sessions held through a HIPAA compliant video platform (Simple Practice and Zoom). Studies have shown that virtual therapy is an effective form of treatment for mental health concerns. There are some concerns that can benefit from more in person treatment, such as risk concerns (e.g., suicidal and self-harm concerns), moderate to severe eating disorders, and more severe pathology (e.g., schizophrenia).

When it comes to anxiety, moving forward with virtual services can be more of a personal preference. As someone who lived in the DMV for 10 years, I know how difficult it can be to find a time to travel for an appointment while juggling traffic, work and personal life responsibilities. Virtual therapy could be a great option for you if you struggle to commit to an ongoing therapy due to time constraints.

I also want to note that the virual services I offer are different from virtual platforms like BetterHelp or Talkspace. My services are only based off weekly video appointments and are not held over text. Meeting over video and on a consistent weekly basis will help you get the most out of therapy (which is true in person or virtually).