Anxiety Therapy in West LA
A body-based approach for teens and adults
Anxiety isn’t only in your head. You might already know that you’re safe and still feel your chest tighten, your stomach drop, or your mind race at 2am.
If you’ve tried to think your way out of anxiety and it keeps coming back, that’s usually because it’s living in your body and nervous system. That’s where I work with it.
I see teens and adults at my West LA office, minutes from Santa Monica, and online throughout California.
Signs anxiety is living in your body
-
A tight chest, shallow breathing or a racing heart
-
Stomach knots, nausea or trouble eating
-
Tense shoulders, jaw clenching or headaches
-
Trouble falling or staying asleep
-
Feeling “on” all the time and unable to fully relax
-
Panic attacks, or a constant low hum of worry
-
Overthinking, overplanning or needing to control things
Why I work with anxiety through the body
Anxiety is your nervous system trying to protect you.
Sometimes it’s reacting to real stress. Sometimes it’s still reacting to things that happened long ago. Talk therapy can help you understand why you’re anxious, but understanding alone doesn’t always calm the body.
In our work, we pay attention to what’s happening physically, so your nervous system can learn, slowly and at its own pace, that it’s allowed to settle.
How I Help
We notice sensations, breath and tension as they come up, and practice ways to come back to calm. You’ll leave sessions with tools you can use on your own.
When anxiety is tied to past experiences, EMDR can help your brain process those memories so they stop setting off alarms in the present.
We get curious about the anxious “part” of you: what it’s afraid of and what it’s trying to protect you from. Often it eases once it feels understood.
Mindfulness, which is part of how I work, has research support too.
A large review found mindfulness-based therapy reduced anxiety symptoms across many studies (Hofmann et al., 2010).
Who I Work With
-
High achievers who look calm on the outside and feel anything but on the inside
-
People whose anxiety is connected to trauma, grief or a hard childhood
-
Teens dealing with school stress, social anxiety or panic
-
Anyone who’s tried talk therapy and still feels anxious in their body
In Person or Online
Sessions are available at my West LA office near Santa Monica, Brentwood, Mar Vista and Culver City, or by secure video anywhere in California.
Learn about online therapy
Frequently asked questions
Ready to feel more at ease in your body?
Book a free 15-minute consultation and we’ll see if we’re a good fit.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, California License #131000