Anxiety Therapy in Seattle, WA
Anxiety Is A Full Body Experience
Maybe you’ve reached a point where your mind never seems to shut off, or maybe you’ve noticed that the anxiety is no longer something you can just “push through."
You may be second-guessing everything you say or do, overthinking every decision, or feeling so overwhelmed that you shut down altogether. Perhaps you’re feeling stuck, on edge, or frustrated with yourself that even moments that should feel peaceful or enjoyable are overshadowed by a constant sense of worry or unease.
Whatever it is that you’re experiencing, you’re beginning to notice the impact of anxiety in every part of your life:
struggling to stop anxious, intrusive thought spirals about yourself or your relationships
feeling mentally, emotionally, and physically drained from living in a constant state of what-if thinking
withdrawing, isolating, or wanting constant reassurance in your relationships to feel safe
My Approach to Anxiety Treatment in Seattle
It may feel impossible now, but you can get relief from anxiety. You can feel confident in yourself. You can create a life you no longer want to escape from. And I can help you get there.
My approach to therapy for anxiety comes from Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), otherwise known as Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals. EFIT is an evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders, depression, trauma, and relationship problems. It is a compassionate, non-judgemental way to understand and change restrictive emotional patterns, repetitive behaviors, and attachment insecurity with self and others.
Anxiety is a symptom of something else. In other words, anxiety doesn't appear out of nowhere, something causes it. We need to understand what is causing you to feel anxious in order to make a change that will either significantly reduce the anxiety or eliminate it all together. It is far more therapeutic to address the cause of the anxiety rather than just treating the anxiety symptoms. I’ll help through this process, tailoring each step to your unique needs and circumstances. It is my goal to create a therapeutic relationship with you where you feel understood, safe, and supported.
Anxiety Therapy helps you:
get relief from nervous system overwhelm and feel more grounded
gain confidence and control over anxiety
feel free to live life fully and build genuine connections with people that feel safe and secure
build resilience and feel more equipped to handle difficult situations and navigate life's ups and downs
Meet Your Anxiety Therapist in Seattle, WA
Hi, I’m Angel, and I can help.
I provide effective anxiety therapy that gets to the root cause, so that you can create real, lasting change. My clients walk away from therapy with me feeling grounded, confident, and more hopeful about the future.
What is an Anxiety Disorder?
Anxiety is a normal and natural part of being a human, it's a survival instinct that wants you to be safe. Anxiety becomes "disordered" when it causes significant distress and impairment to your life. In other words, it disrupts your life. It gets in the way of making decisions, going after what you want, creating intimacy in relationships. It can make every day living incredibly challenging. The overwhelming fear and excessive worry generally causes you to avoid the anxiety-inducing situations. It becomes tremendously difficult to get relief from the anxiety, and the anxious feeling reoccurs over and over. Over time, dealing with anxiety at this heightened level can cause other mental health challenges, physical health problems, bring up existential questions, and hinder your overall personal growth and well-being.
Types of Anxiety Disorders Treated
There are a wide range of anxiety disorders, I work with:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): excessive, uncontrollable worry about many areas of your life
Social Anxiety Disorder: intense fear of embarrassment, being judged or humiliated in social situations, which causes avoidance of social situations and parts of daily life
Anxious Attachment Style: the tendency to fear being abandoned or rejected by people, which leads to overthinking interactions, excessively worrying about others, and wanting reassurance repeatedly to try to feel safe and secure in relationships
Avoidant Attachment Style: the tendency to fear being abandoned or rejected by people, which leads to withdrawing from others and keeping people at a distance by avoiding vulnerability, intimacy, and emotional connection
Note: It is not my interest or intention to label you. Diagnosis using the DSM is a tool to understand what you might be experiencing, it does not say something permanent about you. I do not view people as categorized sets of symptoms, this methodology is dehumanizing and in many ways harmful and not helpful. As part of my therapy practices, a diagnosis will not be put in your medical record with me unless you choose to receive superbills to pursue reimbursement from your insurance company as insurance companies require it.
Other Adult Anxiety Treatments in Seattle, WA
Couples Therapy for Anxious Attachment and Avoidant Attachment
Couples therapy can be an effective way to address anxiety that is causing distress in the relationship. When one or both partners is struggling with anxiety, a tension or "walking on egg shells" dynamic can occur that makes it hard for partners to come together and support each other. A common relationship pattern is for one partner to present anxious and the other to present avoidant. This dynamic can create communication problems, stress, and disconnection. Couples therapy is tailored to your unique circumstances, designed to help you create positive interaction patterns and improve your relationship while reducing anxiety and depression.
Frequently Asked Questions about Seattle Anxiety Therapy
Do you work with phobias or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
I do not. I am not specialized in treating phobias, agoraphobia, obsessions and compulsions, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). I do not offer the psychotherapy modalities appropriate for treatment like exposure therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I recommend seeking out a mental health provider that has extensive experience with these health conditions so that you will receive the best care possible to achieve your health goals. If you cannot find care in Seattle for specific mental health issues, feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to find you referrals.
Do you offer psychiatry?
I do not offer psychiatry. My goal is to help you reduce anxiety without taking medication. If you are interested in getting evaluated to see if anxiety medication is something you'd like to incorporate into your treatment, I can offer you referrals to a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), a psychiatrist, or a primary care doctor.
How do I get started with psychotherapy for anxiety?
1) Schedule a 20-minute Discovery Call.I will ask you some questions and you can ask me any questions to see if we'd be a good fit for working together. If we are, great! We’ll schedule your first session.
If not, no problem. I’ll refer to you to another talented therapist in my network who can help.
2) I’ll email you a link to your Client Portal where you will complete the intake paperwork before your first session.
3) A few minutes before the start of your session, simply click the link in your reminder email or through your Client Portal. It will ask you to "check in" with your name and to enable video and microphone access. I will greet you shortly after.
More questions? Check out my FAQs page.
If you are in crisis, experiencing an emergency, or if you need immediate support, please call 911 or the Crisis Lifeline at 988.
FEELING BETTER DOESN’T HAVE TO WAIT…
Get relief today, and get back to living!