Anxiety Therapy
in Pleasant Hill and Alamo, CA
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Explore Our Specializations
Worrying is a natural response to stress and can even be helpful in solving problems. Distinguishing between constructive worry versus overwhelming anxiety is essential for health and wellness.
Constructive worry involves dealing with a problem, finding some resolution, and noticing the worry fading. With anxiety, there can be excessive worry about unlikely outcomes, reliving of traumas, catastrophizing, fear of the unknown, or persistent feelings of insecurity and uncertainty.
Therapy for anxiety helps navigate the thoughts and triggers that bring on physical and emotional symptoms. We work on recognizing when you're being too hard on yourself and gently shifting into a mindset of compassion and clarity. We explore how to handle external judgment without losing confidence or self-worth, while healing painful experiences and memories. In a safe and supportive space you’ll learn strategies that calm the mind, manage physical symptoms, and regain control in unpleasant situations.
Developing tools to manage racing thoughts and worry loops
Learning how to calm the nervous system
Identifying and challenging anxious thought patterns
Navigating social anxiety and building confidence in interactions
Managing panic attacks and overwhelming moments
Addressing perfectionism and fear of failure
Reframing avoidance behaviors to regain control over life
Strengthening emotional regulation and distress tolerance
Finding balance between productivity and rest without guilt
Healing the root causes of chronic anxiety and overthinking
Cultivating mindfulness and present-moment awareness
We Help With:
What we help with:
Developing tools to manage racing thoughts and worry loops
Learning how to calm the nervous system
Identifying and challenging anxious thought patterns
Navigating social anxiety and building confidence in interactions
Managing panic attacks and overwhelming moments
Addressing perfectionism and fear of failure
Reframing avoidance behaviors to regain control over life
Strengthening emotional regulation and distress tolerance
Finding balance between productivity and rest without guilt
Healing the root causes of chronic anxiety and overthinking
Cultivating mindfulness and present-moment awareness
Kristin Neff
the power to overcome anxiety lies in being present, facing what is happening right now,
and grounding yourself in the moment
Our Preferred Evidence-Based Treatments
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported treatment that helps change distressing thought patterns that contribute to anxiety and depression. Through CBT, you'll learn to identify and challenge negative thoughts, reframe irrational beliefs, and replace them with healthier, more realistic perspectives. CBT also focuses on breaking patterns of self-doubt and worry by learning how to re-evaluate situations and adopt more constructive thinking. These tools empower you to make lasting changes in how you think and respond.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness principles to help individuals manage emotions, navigate challenges, and improve relationships. It focuses on four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. By building these skills, DBT empowers individuals to replace destructive patterns with practical, lasting strategies that promote resilience, balance, and a greater sense of control in daily life.
TF-CBT helps by combining practical coping skills with gradual exposure to difficult memories. It starts by teaching relaxation techniques, emotional regulation, and ways to challenge unhelpful thoughts. Once a strong foundation is built, individuals slowly and safely process their trauma with the support of a therapist. This approach reduces fear and distress, strengthens personal resilience, and fosters healthier ways of thinking and relating to others.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a proven, client-centered approach designed to help individuals overcome ambivalence and create lasting change. It focuses on exploring personal motivations and values, guiding clients to take actionable steps toward their goals. MI is highly effective in treating issues like addiction, unhealthy behaviors, and low motivation by strengthening confidence and commitment, empowering clients to drive their own positive transformations.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a proven approach that that helps couples break negative cycles and strengthen emotional bonds. In therapy, partners identify patterns of conflict and learn techniques like emotional validation and replacing reactive behaviors with empathetic responses. EFT targets underlying emotional triggers, promoting healthier attachment while deepening intimacy. It’s particularly effective for couples facing disconnection, insecurity, and trust issues, leading to genuine understanding and lasting change. This therapy is effective with treating emotional withdrawal, fear of abandonment, and attachment wounds, creating stronger, more secure relationships.
EMDR helps your brain reprocess stuck memories so they no longer feel overwhelming or intense. Unprocessed experiences can trigger or worsen anxiety, shame, distress, and physiological reactions. After EMDR, difficult experiences often feel neutral, distant, or easier to manage. We use techniques like eye movements or handheld tappers to activate both sides of the brain, supporting your brain’s natural ability to heal and make sense of the distressing experiences. Sessions follow a structured 8-phase protocol to help you build resilience and process memories, while fully awake and alert. EMDR is effective for distress related to loss, illness, trauma, childhood wounds, and relationship pain.
ERP is a structured therapy that helps reduce distress from obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. It involves gradual, guided exposure to feared situations or thoughts without doing the habits or rituals you usually do to feel better. This process helps decrease anxiety over time and breaks the cycle of obsessions and rituals. You remain fully present and supported throughout, learning new ways to tolerate discomfort and regain control. ERP is especially effective for OCD, skin picking, hair pulling, and related anxiety challenges. Sessions are available in person and via telehealth throughout California.
Let's Connect
395 Taylor Blvd
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
3189 Danville Blvd
Alamo, CA 94507
925-830-7900
overthinking
racing thoughts
avoidance
difficulty relaxing
easily overwhelmed
intrusive worries
Worrying is a natural response to stress and can even be helpful in solving problems. Distinguishing between constructive worry versus overwhelming anxiety is essential for health and wellness.
Constructive worry involves dealing with a problem, finding some resolution, and noticing the worry fading. With anxiety, there can be excessive worry about unlikely outcomes, reliving of traumas, catastrophizing, fear of the unknown, or persistent feelings of insecurity and uncertainty.
Therapy for anxiety helps navigate the thoughts and triggers that bring on physical and emotional symptoms. We work on recognizing when you're being too hard on yourself and gently shifting into a mindset of compassion and clarity. We explore how to handle external judgment without losing confidence or self-worth, while healing painful experiences and memories. In a safe and supportive space you’ll learn strategies that calm the mind, manage physical symptoms, and regain control in unpleasant situations.