— Clinical specialty
Anxiety therapy
Would your friends or family describe you as a worrier? Do you have difficulty in specific situations, like public speaking or social events? Do you experience an inexplicable sense of anxiousness that doesn't seem to go away?
If you recognize yourself in those questions, you may be experiencing clinically-elevated anxiety. This is above and beyond stress, burn out, or worrying and may need a methodical approach to diagnosis and treatment.
My approach to anxiety
Anxiety is both a symptom and a disorder. Many people with varying mental health diagnoses experience anxiety. You do not have to live with either one. Here's how I can help:
- Anxiety shows up in many different ways, each with its own effective treatment strategy. Through a thorough and collaborative assessment, we will first figure out what kind of anxiety you're experiencing, whether it's a symptom of something else, or whether it is a type of anxiety disorder.
- Help you understand your experience, beyond a simple diagnosis. There's a lot of incorrect and partially-correct information online. You don't have to wade through them on your own.
- Together, come up with a treatment plan that will reduce or manage your anxiety. Possible modalities may include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Solutions-focused therapy
- Exposure Therapy
- Determine whether your anxiety has roots in trauma, including experiences in childhood and adulthood. If so, we will take a processing, trauma-informed approach to identify and resolve core experiences that started and are maintaining your symptoms.
Expertise & training
Anxiety is one of my core specialties. As a clinical psychologist with a unique background in assessments, one of my expertise involves “differential diagnoses” - that is, figuring out what's what and differentiating one mental health diagnosis from another. I have worked across a variety of settings, including:
- Large hospital systems like Johns Hopkins
- Small community clinics
- Inpatient units
- Outpatient clinics
- Veterans Affairs hospitals
- Specialty clinics/programs like the Moores Cancer Center in San Diego
These settings allowed me to work with individuals across the age spectrum with complex presentations. Taken together, I will bring my expertise and experiences to collaborate with you in not only identifying the underlying causes and issues, but to address them in a methodical, compassionate, and effective manner.
Every person has the right to happiness and fulfillment
Sometimes, we just need a little support, encouragement, empowerment, and accountability to reach our goals.
Take the first step
- There are evidence-based treatments for what you're experiencing.
- There is support to help you work towards the future you envision.
- There is hope and things can change.