Anxiety & OCD Therapy in New York

Anxiety comes in many forms, and we will always assess to see if your anxiety is caused or complicated by past trauma. We treat the following anxiety-related struggles with a mixture of evidence-based modalities:

• Generalized anxiety disorder

• Acute stress reactions 

• Obsessions and compulsions (OCD)

• Fear of social situations (social anxiety)

• Avoidance of people, places, things, or experiences (phobias)

• Performance anxiety

• Hypervigilance, or feeling constantly on edge

• Constant worry or racing thoughts

• Panic attacks

• Physical symptoms of anxiety, including difficulty breathing, muscle tension and TMJ, increased heart rate, GI upset or “stomach flips,” or frequent “buzzing” in your chest

• Insomnia or difficulty sleeping

Absolutely! Since anxiety is caused by arousal of your autonomic nervous system, it’s common for anxiety to affect the body. This is especially true for people who have suffered past traumas; trauma can get stuck in the body in the form of anxiety, or a nervous system that is constantly “on.” Common physical symptoms of anxiety include: muscle tension, muscle aches, headaches, racing heart, buzzing in your chest, feeling of tightness in your chest, nausea, feeling a pit in your stomach, excessive sweatiness, feeling shaky, and more.

Therapy for anxiety will do so much more than just making your body feel better. You will also learn to:

• Set boundaries and perform self-care without guilt

• Reconnect with your loved ones and stay present with them

• Find effective ways to cope with your anxiety when it spikes

• Increase mindfulness

• Focus your thoughts and concentrate on what matters

• Experience more joy

• Increase relaxation and live with a calm body

• Make intentional decisions driven by your values, not your anxiety

• Enhance your performance at work or school

• Process unresolved trauma

Anxiety is normal, and even healthy—we need it for survival. It’s a nervous system adaptation that helps us cope with threats. Anxiety is mean to turn on when we need it, and then turn off once the threat has been resolved. 

We can, however, end up with over-developed anxiety responses which go far beyond helpfulness and start negatively impacting our lives and bodies. If your anxiety is getting in the way of your ability to relax, enjoy life, work effectively, feel refreshed by sleep, make decisions, cope with daily stress, or maintain health relationships, you may have over-developed anxiety.

Because anxiety is normal and necessary for survival, there’s no getting rid of it for good. Therapy can help you identify what’s healthy anxiety, and what’s distorted, unhealthy, or over-developed anxiety. Once you can identify that, therapy can teach you strategies that will give you freedom from overdeveloped anxiety.

We offer several types of evidence-based therapy that are proven treatments for anxiety. Our most common approaches for anxiety include CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), mindfulness, DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).

If your anxiety is linked to past traumas of any kind, EMDR can be a highly effective way to get rid of overdeveloped, unnecessary anxiety while preserving the healthy, protective anxiety that we all innately have.

OCD covers a wide spectrum of symptoms, from intrusive or disturbing thoughts and compulsions, to guilt, shame, despair, self-doubt, and inability to tolerate discomfort or uncertainty. We treat all of these symptoms with a combination of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), EMDR (see more here), and ART (see more here). We also use parts work, somatic approaches, and mindfulness techniques. The goal of therapy is more than just relief of symptoms. We also want you to feel empowered, to feel confident in your self-control, to have a deeper understanding of yourself, and to develop effective, healthy ways of feeling safe.

Depending on whether you choose talk therapy or if EMDR is right for you, your treatment length can vary. Treatment plans incorporate factors like how severe your anxiety is and how often you want to schedule sessions. If you want relief fast, we encourage you to consider booking a therapy intensive. If you’re not sure what’s the best fit for you, please contact us to set up a free consult where we can discuss your options.

Call us, or use the contact form today, to get a free consult scheduled. Once we get an idea of your needs, we will schedule your first session ASAP. You don’t have to wait a week to get a consult call with this group. We offer same-week appointments, and our focus is always on getting you the help you need as fast and effectively as possible.