Guidance and empowerment to stop the spiral of anxiety.
Therapy for Anxiety in Oak Park IL
Virtual in Chicago and across Illinois
You remember a time when you felt confident, slept well and were able to laugh.
But over the years that version of you has faded away. Instead it feels like your anxiety is in control.
Right now you are:
irritable even though you are not sure why
exhausted, but have trouble sleeping because you can’t turn off your brain
avoiding situations because you have thoughts about making a mistake or something bad happening
plagued with thoughts about how you don’t measure up
have rituals or strict rules that used to help you feel less anxious
find yourself scrolling your phone to turn off all of the worried thoughts
Do you notice yourself feeling cranky and easily annoyed with those around you? Then you feel guilty and even more anxious?
It is a cycle that you don’t know how to break.
It feels so easy to get caught in a spiral of thoughts about someone being mad at you or having made a mistake at work or something terrible happening in the future.
This spiral of thoughts is making it hard to concentrate, feel calm, settled in your body or confident about anything. You find yourself missing out on opportunities at work or with friends. The loneliness only turns up the volume on your spiraling thoughts.
You have goals in your life and you know that anxiety is getting in the way…
you just are not sure what to do about it.
Maybe your child is struggling and you wonder if it could be anxiety.
Your child might be:
irritable and angry - yelling at you or having frequent meltdowns.
crying, withdrawn and reluctant to join even fun things they used to enjoy.
doing great at school, but as soon as they are home they crumble.
frequently complaining about stomachaches or headaches, especially if there is a test or report that day.
sobbing and asking you not to leave, even after the 25 hug routine, they are so upset.
Your child’s anxiety is becoming overwhelming. You have tried to give more reassurance, allow extra time for separation or avoid situations that seem the most upsetting.
Even with all of this effort things are getting worse.
Your child’s anxiety seems to be growing and spiraling, taking even more time from you and your family. It is hard to remember what it felt like to spontaneously stop at the park, have a date night with your partner or drop your child off at a birthday party.
It feels like your entire family revolves around your child’s anxiety.
It is also hard to know what to tell your child’s teacher if the anxiety is showing up at school. They are having trouble making friends, unable to complete school work or won’t participate in class. The teacher is looking to you for guidance and you don’t know what to say.
Loosening the hold anxiety has on you means feeling more empowered and joyful.
You’re in the right place.
You can take back your life. You can show up and lead your work meeting confident that you know what you are talking about. Relationships with your partner and friends can feel easy again. You will get a good night’s sleep because you won’t be lying awake all night replaying something you said. Your body will feel more relaxed, you will be able to breathe deeply and your mind will feel clear.
Your child can be more themselves without having to work so hard to try and cope. Play and whimsy will fill their days again. They will have the words and ability to let you know if they need more support. They will also have a whole toolbox of skills that they can use when needed. Learning to overcome anxiety is empowering and can help your child feel like a superhero. It is possible. And often takes less time than you might guess.
How therapy works
You can learn to stop the spiral of anxiety.
There are many kinds of therapy approaches that can help you feel more in control and less afraid. Together we will craft an approach that feels authentic to you.
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The first step is an evaluation. This will help us understand your history with anxiety, where it is showing up, what symptoms you are experiencing and what your anxiety is costing you (time, joy relationships, confidence, extra doctor appointments, missed vacations, etc)
With children, we will also start with an evaluation. This may include screening tools and reaching out to your child’s teacher (with your permission)
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Once we have finished the evaluation we will have goals to work towards. We will spend time getting to know one another and building trust. I believe our relationship is a critical part of successful therapy. Once we have built a connection and you feel safe we will start to work on your anxiety.
With children, we will build a parent-child-therapist team and develop a plan for how to move forward. Building a relationship with your child is vital and takes time. Most parents want relief quickly, but taking the time to develop trust will make the rest of our work together possible.
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I use a variety of methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention, Parent Training and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. See Methods section on my About page if you are interested in more details.
Sessions might include: psychoeducation, exposure tasks, and skill building. If you are bringing your child, treatment will also include regular parent involvement. We will focus on thinking, feeling and choices to discover how these things reduce or increase anxiety. I help you feel empowered and that anxiety is no longer in charge.
Therapy for anxiety can help you…
Identify the ways that anxiety is showing up in your life
Identify ways that your history and past experiences play a role in your current anxiety
Improve your ability to handle anxiety so it doesn’t hold you back anymore
Trust yourself to handle difficult situations and life stress with a sense of steadiness
Reconnect with the parts of yourself that are brave, creative and joyful
Therapy for anxiety can help your child…
Empower your child to feel like a superhero who can defeat anxiety
Improve your ability to modify your parenting to decrease anxiety
Trust your child to use their new coping tools
Reconnect with your child and see who they are underneath their anxiety
Increase play and whimsy in your child’s everyday
Frequently asked questions about Anxiety therapy
FAQs
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Feeling a safe and genuine connection to your therapist is vital. I offer a free 15 minute consultation, so you can see if we are a good match. If the fit feels right, we will schedule your first appointment and you can fill out paperwork online. Sessions can be virtual or in person. Learn more.
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In order to learn to cope with anxiety, you need to practice coping with anxiety! Exposure tasks are the way that we do that. These are carefully planned so that they are not overwhelming. We plan together and create exposures in a gradual way, starting with easier tasks and moving to more challenging ones. Often, people try to avoid what makes them anxious, but this makes anxiety bigger. Exposures confront that idea and help you to develop the capacity to take control away from your anxiety. Learn more.
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When a child is struggling with anxiety, often their family is very involved with their anxiety. There may be things that the family doesn’t do or places they don’t go. The family might feel they have to do things in a certain order or say things a certain way. Some families have to redo things if not done “correctly”. All of these things are well intentioned ways of trying to help their child. Through therapy we want to slowly change these rules and routines. The goal is to shift to more healthy ways of coping with anxiety and for your child to be empowered. Learn more.
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We usually will start with weekly sessions. That gives us time to build trust, explore your anxiety and begin to create new paths forward. Once you are feeling better, we might shift to every other week or even once a month. This will allow us to monitor how things are going and if you are able to maintain the progress you have made. Learn More
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This is one of the things we will talk about in the evaluation because it depends on many different things. I do not prescribe medication. I can provide education about the role of medications and what we know about how and when it is helpful. I can support you in finding a physician. In collaboration with the physician, I can help you think through if medication is right for you. Learn More
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I am passionate about helping parents be strong and effective advocates for their child. We will work together to look at how your child is doing, what supports are currently in place and look for opportunities where improvements can be made. I can help you understand how the school system works, learn the lingo for the process of requesting support (IEP, 504, case study, due process), and help you navigate the system. We will also work with your child to improve their ability to self advocate in the classroom as well (in an age appropriate way). It takes a team! Learn More
Therapy Methods
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Exposure and Response Prevention
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Parent Training
SPACE: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions