Marin Individual Therapy and Counseling: Anxiety

There are many types of anxiety disorders. Whatever your situation, the symptoms of anxiety can be distressing and debilitating. Seeking therapy can be the first step towards decreasing your symptoms, finding management tools and ultimately, make lasting change. My anxiety counseling pulls a lot of ideas from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy so I'll give you tools to use to manage your anxiety. We can then explore the possible source of the anxiety. I believe there’s usually a link somehow to the family of origin – or other past occurrences – so we’ll try to gain insight into this together. Then we’ll attempt to reshape any unhelpful beliefs into more helpful, affirming ones. If your symptoms are severe, this might include a referral for medication assessment. Research has shown that talk therapy combined with appropriate medications can be very effective. If there is a hesitation to take medication, I understand completely and we can look at exhausting all other avenues before going down that road. You don't have to live with constant worry and fear! I always strive to help my clients make longterm change.

The types of anxiety I’ve had the most experience with are Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Social Anxiety Disorder. I’ve also had some experience with Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Agoraphobia and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I do not have experience with Specific Phobias.

If you’re not sure which, if any, category you might fall into, see below for brief definitions of each:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – Excessive worry that is out of proportion to the impact of the event or circumstance that is the focus of the worry.

Social Anxiety Disorder - A persistent irrational fear of situations in which the person may be closely watched and judged by others.

Panic Disorder - Unpredictable attacks of anxiety that are accompanied by physiological symptoms. People often go in to see a doctor for symptoms related to heart attacks or other medical conditions before a panic disorder diagnosis is made.

Agoraphobia - An abnormal fear of being helpless in an embarrassing or inescapable situation. People often end up avoiding open or public places.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - A debilitating condition that often follows a terrifying physical or emotional event causing the person who survived the event to have persistent, frightening thoughts, memories and/or flashbacks.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – The attempts to manage an unreasonable thought, fear, or worry by ritualized activity to reduce the anxiety. Disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions and the rituals performed to attempt to prevent them are called compulsions.

Specific Phobias - Fear of objects or situations resulting in severe anxiety symptoms.

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See my article, Childhood Experience and Adult Anxiety in The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com, a resource for emotional and relationship health.

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Learn about some of my other Marin individual therapy services:

Depression

Stress Management

Trauma

Anger Management

Family of Origin Work

Divorce Adjustment

Personal Growth and Development

"Marin Therapist helping people resolve their individual issues and have more satisfying relationships."