Anxiety Therapy

Is Anxiety Taking Joy And Freedom From Your Life?

Are you or your child negatively affected by daily fears and worries?

Have looping concerns about work, school, and everyday life impacted your ability to function?

Do you struggle to regulate your emotions when under stress?

No matter your age, anxiety can create disruptive emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms. Maybe you experience pain and muscle tension or often feel fatigued. When restless, you struggle to focus and may have noticed frequent ruminations (replaying certain thoughts and memories) that prevent you from relaxing.

Always on edge, you might be frequently irritable or agitated with those around you. It’s common for smaller worries to fester into big, distracting issues, which can create conflict between yourself and others. You may have noticed your thinking patterns get increasingly fearful or catastrophic over time, indicating that you’ve adopted an anxious mindset that often feels impossible to escape.

All you want is to feel in control of your thoughts and feelings so that you can accomplish tasks, maintain relationships, and enjoy life—but anxiety is insistent on keeping you fearful and distressed. In therapy, however, you have a chance to understand what your anxiety is telling you and find relief from the symptoms it has presented in your life.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is an incredibly common mental health issue, and it’s estimated that close to 40 million adults—roughly 20 percent of the population—suffer from some type of anxiety. Kids struggle with anxiety at even higher rates, with over 30 percent of children developing symptoms. When broken down into specific disorders, anxiety can present as follows:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – a general inability to control worry
Panic Disorder – intensified anxiety to the point of a physical “attack,” often involving heart palpitations, sweating, and fainting
Social Anxiety – excessive fear of being judged, rejected, or ridiculed by others, leading to avoidance of social situations or meeting new people
Phobias – extreme fear of a particular object or experience

Many experts also include Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) under the umbrella of anxiety disorders, and anxiety often co-occurs with other mental health issues like depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to identify where anxiety disorders originated or if certain symptoms are directly related. However, there are a wide range of evidence-based treatments—including therapy—that have been proven to be highly effective in treating anxiety.

Why Does Anxiety Happen?

Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience. When our brains perceive a threat, we become hypervigilant to keep ourselves safe. But as hypervigilance becomes the norm—even when we’re not in direct danger—we can begin to develop fears about otherwise unharmful, everyday situations.

Unfortunately, much of what happens around us contributes to a sense of worry and panic. We live in an information age that constantly exposes us to threats around the globe—no more evident than during the onset of Covid-19, when rates of anxiety skyrocketed among populations across age, gender, and socioeconomic lines. The pandemic serves as a strong example of how prolonged and extreme stress contributes to an upswing in anxiety.

Oftentimes, though, we develop the belief that extreme fear is just a part of our survival, or that we have thought this way for so long that nothing can actually help ease our anxiety. Instead of seeking treatment, we may turn to substances, distractions, and numbing behaviors to avoid the fears and worries at the core of our distress.

Scientifically speaking, psychotherapy is the most effective way to treat—not just mask—symptoms of anxiety. While medications can provide temporary relief, therapy gives you the chance to feel supported to treat anxiety at the source, offering you an opportunity for lasting healing. Our team at The Next Step is made up of empathetic, experienced counselors who can help you develop lifelong tools for managing stress and worry.

Therapy Is A Valuable Way To Treat Anxiety

Living in constant fear makes it nearly impossible to feel safe and relaxed. Counseling is a weekly opportunity for adults and children alike to come together with a therapist, explore thoughts and feelings in a neutral, nonjudgmental environment, and take meaningful steps toward anxiety symptom reduction.

Our counselors are here to collaborate with you and will work hard to facilitate an open, trusting relationship. As they get to know you better, your therapist will use your background, strengths, and insights to customize tools that will allow you to take a less fearful and more affirming view of the world. With newfound awareness and relaxation, you will be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

Our Approach At The Next Step

Therapy begins with intake paperwork that is completed online through our client portal. For younger clients (those under 18), we will make sure that parents understand the process and limits of confidentiality. And depending on age and presenting concerns, clients will be matched with a therapist that best suits their needs.

From there, treatment is oriented around both insight and solutions. While it’s essential to learn proper coping and stress management skills to combat surface-level symptoms, it’s also important to understand where your anxiety originated and how it has altered your experience. By peeling back the layers to the root of your anxiety, you can manage triggers and set meaningful boundaries.

Because our treatment plans are collaborative, there is no one specific approach to therapy for anxiety. However, our therapists are trained in a wide range of counseling methods and will typically use a blend of evidence-based approaches to help clients in overcoming anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – often considered the “gold standard” of anxiety treatment, CBT challenges and reframes negative thoughts while offering insight into how these thoughts affect feelings and behaviors
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – focuses on emotional regulation and stress management by teaching tangible skills that are practiced in and out of the therapeutic setting
Exposure Response and Prevention (ERP) – exposure therapy is particularly helpful for those struggling with phobias, social anxiety, and OCD by creating safe situations where you can confront your fears
Psychoanalysis – analyzes experiences from your life to determine the lasting psychological effect they’ve had
Supportive counseling – a therapist offers you unconditional positive regard and creates a goal-oriented atmosphere to work toward symptom reduction
Play and creative therapies – for children and teens, in particular, using creative outlets to explore thoughts, feelings, and emotions

With the right tailored blend of support provided at The Next Step, you or your child can experience true and lasting relief from anxiety. Though fear has been the norm for a long time, it is possible to free yourself from debilitating anxiety and heal.

Not Quite Yet Convinced That Anxiety Treatment Can Help?

We are invested in offering effective and affordable care to our clients. For this reason, we are in-network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Cigna/Evernorth. If your insurance provider is not listed here, let us know, and we will give you information about reimbursement.
Your care is ultimately your choice. However, working with an experienced, effective counselor can help you regain the control your anxiety has taken. Because our anxiety treatment plans are collaborative, you can work with your therapist to determine how many sessions of counseling you want to commit to.
There is nothing to be ashamed of for seeking therapy, and those around you are likely to notice improvements as you find increasing relief from symptoms of anxiety. It’s up to you who you discuss your therapeutic experience with—we will never disclose information to others without your consent—but seeking help for anxiety indicates that you take your mental and emotional health seriously. That’s something to be proud of!

Regain Control Over Your Thoughts, Feelings, And Behaviors

If you or your child struggle with daily symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks, therapy at The Next Step is a powerful way to process your emotions and find relief. To schedule a free, 15-minute consultation, fill out our contact form or call (480) 702 – 1605.

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