Anxiety Treatment

Anxiety is a normal human experience, but for some people it becomes persistent, hard to control, and in the way of daily life.

It takes many shapes, such as overthinking, panic attacks, perfectionism, fear of "what ifs," or less obvious symptoms like trouble concentrating or muscle tension.

Whatever form it takes, anxiety often pulls us into the same cycle: avoiding the people, places, or situations that trigger it. It feels like relief in the moment, but over time it makes anxiety worse and your world smaller.

Therapy can help you break that cycle.

❋ About Anxiety

❋ What to Expect in Therapy

Anxiety treatment is always tailored to you, but common areas of focus include working to:

  • Understand anxiety and what drives it

  • Build practical coping tools that fit into your life

  • Gradually learn to tolerate anxiety + live with less avoidance

  • Address related concerns, such as:

    • Panic attacks

    • Racing, hard-to-control thoughts

    • Physical anxiety symptoms

    • Low self-esteem + negative self-talk

    • Depression

    • Sleep issues

    • Trouble functioning at work, school, home, or in relationships

Dr. Steph works with:

  • Children

  • Teens

  • Adults

  • Parents of children with anxiety

❋ Working Together

She uses CBT, ACT, and exposure-based techniques in anxiety treatment.

For young children, parent coaching and parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) techniques are also often part of the work.

FAQs

  • Generally speaking, people with anxiety might find that they are:

    • Worrying more than they would like and can't seem to “turn it off”

    • Avoiding situations, people, or decisions out of fear or uncertainty

    • Struggling with perfectionism or feeling like nothing they do is ever quite good enough

    • Noticing anxiety showing up in their body (tension, stomachaches, trouble sleeping, a racing heart, etc.)

    • Replaying conversations or scenarios long after they're over

    • Feeling like they’re holding it together on the outside but barely managing on the inside

  • If you’re a parent, you may notice your child is:

    • Asking repeated reassurance-seeking questions like "what if something bad happens?" or "are you sure I'll be okay?”

    • Avoiding social situations, new experiences, or activities they used to enjoy

    • Refusing to go to school or avoiding school (e.g., frequent trips to the nurse's office or texting a parent to pick them up early)

    • Acting clingy or struggling to separate from parents at ages when that's less expected

    • Melting down or having big emotions that seem out-of-proportion to the actual event

    • Struggling with sleep, such as trouble falling asleep, having nightmares, or wanting to sleep with parents

    • Seeming “perfectionistic” or very upset by mistakes, grades, or performance

    • Excessively worrying about things like safety, death, health, natural disasters, or the future

    • Becoming irritable or angry out of nowhere

    • Seeming "zoned out" or having trouble concentrating

    • Physically freezing or shutting down in overwhelming situations

  • Stress usually has a clear source (like a deadline, a conflict, or a hard season of life) and tends to be temporary. Once a situation passes, so does the feeling.

    Anxiety is different in that it tends to stick around even when things "should" feel fine, there’s no clear trigger, or when the worry feels much greater than the situation actually warrants. It can feel excessive, hard to control, and like it’s getting in the way of relationships, school, work, or daily life.

    Something worth knowing is that you don't need to figure out which one it is to benefit from therapy either. Therapy can be helpful for anyone navigating stress too, not just clinical anxiety.

    If your anxiety or stress is persistent, getting in the way of daily life, or feels hard to shake, that's worth talking to someone about.

  • Not necessarily. Some people find it helpful to explore where their anxiety came from. Others want to focus entirely on what's happening now and how to manage it. Therapy here is guided by what's most useful for you rather than a predetermined formula.

  • Most likely, yes. But it will happen gradually and at a pace that feels manageable. Avoidance is one of the main things that keeps anxiety going, so part of the work involves gently facing the things that feel hard. You won't be pushed into anything before you're ready.

  • Medication is a personal decision, and there's no right or wrong answer. Some people find it helpful alongside therapy, others prefer to work without it.

    If you're curious about whether medication might be a good fit, Dr. Steph has trusted local prescribers she can refer you to.

    She’s also happy to coordinate care with any existing prescribers if you’re already working with someone.

"If you aren't willing to have it, you will."
-Steven C. Hayes, A Liberated Mind