Anxiety Therapy in Lynnwood, WA
Are you exhausted from always being the one who has it together? Tired of that constant voice in your head that never gives you a break? If you're a woman who's been conditioned to put everyone else first while your own anxiety symptoms spiral out of control, I see you. And I'm here to help.
I'm a mental health professional in Lynwood, WA who specializes in treating anxiety disorders for women who are done with surface-level solutions. My anxiety therapy isn't about telling you to "just breathe" or asking "how does that make you feel?" It's about understanding why you developed these patterns and creating real, lasting change.
Understanding Anxiety Disorders: You're Not Broken
Anxiety disorders affect millions of women, but they show up differently for each person. Maybe you have generalized anxiety disorder with that constant worry that never shuts off. Or social anxiety disorder that makes every interaction feel like you're being judged. Some women experience panic disorder with sudden, overwhelming episodes, while others deal with separation anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder.
The physical symptoms of anxiety disorders are real and exhausting. Your heart pounds for no reason. You experience muscle tension that makes your shoulders feel like rocks. You might feel dizzy, get sweaty palms, or have trouble catching your breath. These aren't "just in your head" – they're your nervous system stuck in overdrive.
The mental health symptoms are equally challenging. Anxious feelings create constant mental chatter, catastrophic thinking, and the inability to sit still with your thoughts. You might avoid situations that trigger anxiety, say yes when you want to say no, or throw yourself into work to avoid dealing with overwhelming emotions.
If this sounds familiar, you're not broken. Your anxiety developed for a reason – probably to protect you or help you survive difficult experiences. But now it's time to learn new ways to manage anxiety and reclaim your life.
My Approach to Treating Anxiety Disorders
As your mental health provider, I don't just treat symptoms – I work with you to understand the root causes of your anxiety disorders and create lasting change. My approach combines evidence-based psychological treatments with genuine understanding of what it's like to be a woman in this world.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety disorders because it focuses on accepting difficult emotions rather than fighting them. Instead of trying to eliminate anxiety symptoms, we'll work on reducing their power over your life.
In our sessions, we'll identify what truly matters to you – not what you think should matter, but your actual values. Then we'll figure out how to move toward those values even when severe anxiety shows up. This anxiety treatment helps you live authentically while managing mental health challenges.
You'll learn that you can feel anxious AND still have difficult conversations, set boundaries, or pursue meaningful goals. The anxiety might tag along, but it doesn't get to control your choices anymore.
Brainspotting for Deep Healing
When anxiety disorders are connected to trauma or past experiences, traditional talk therapy sometimes isn't enough. That's where Brainspotting comes in – a powerful technique that accesses parts of your brain where emotional experiences get stuck.
During Brainspotting sessions, we use specific eye positions to help your nervous system process and release what's been holding you back. Many clients experience significant relief from anxiety symptoms and physical tension during these sessions. It's particularly effective for women dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder or anxiety connected to past trauma.
Person-Centered Therapy: You Are the Expert
I believe you already have wisdom about what you need – you've just been taught to ignore it. My role isn't to fix you or tell you what to do. It's to create a space where you can reconnect with your own inner knowing and learn to trust yourself again.
This approach to treating anxiety disorders recognizes that you're the expert on your own experience. We'll explore your patterns with curiosity, not judgment, and work together to find healthier ways to meet your needs.
Intuitive Eating Therapy
For many women, anxiety disorders and food struggles go hand in hand. Maybe you restrict when stressed or binge eat when overwhelmed. Diet culture teaches us to distrust our bodies, but when you're constantly fighting with yourself, it feeds anxiety symptoms.
Intuitive eating therapy helps heal your relationship with food and your body. When you stop waging war with yourself, anxiety disorders often naturally decrease. We'll work on trusting your body's signals while addressing the emotional patterns underneath disordered eating.
Specialized Anxiety Treatment Options
Therapy Intensives
Sometimes weekly sessions feel too slow when you're struggling with mental health conditions. My therapy intensives offer longer sessions where we can dive deep without the start-and-stop nature of traditional therapy.
Intensives are particularly powerful for anxiety disorders because we can work through patterns and triggers in extended sessions. We might use multiple approaches – talking, Brainspotting, and practical skill-building – all in one comprehensive session
Group Therapy for Women
One of the most healing aspects of group therapy is realizing you're not alone in struggling with mental health issues. My women's groups create a safe support group environment where you can be real about your experiences without performing or pretending.
You'll connect with other women who understand the pressure to be perfect, the exhaustion of people-pleasing, and the challenge of putting yourself first. Group therapy also provides opportunities to practice new skills like setting boundaries or expressing needs in a supportive environment.
I also offer specialized groups for binge eating disorder, recognizing the strong connection between anxiety disorders and food struggles.
12-Week Health Program
Depending on your specific experience of anxiety, incorporating the 12-week health program may provide additional benefit and support for you. There are many things in the program that have direct impacts on anxiety such as substance use, foods, exercise, water intake, and sleep.
By combining a body and mind approach, your anxiety relief can be doubled because we are better able to tend to multiple areas that cause or exacerbate anxiety.
What Makes My Anxiety Therapy Different
Unlike traditional behavior therapy approaches that focus only on symptoms, I understand the specific pressures women face. I know what it's like to be taught to be "good," to put everyone else's needs first, and to ignore your own instincts until you don't even know what they are anymore. Using my masters in nutrition and clinical work with physical heath, I also incorporate the body and nervous system into our work to help treat the whole person and not just the anxiety.
When you work with me, I'm fully engaged every minute of our session. I don't just sit back and nod – I'm actively working with you to understand your patterns and create change. This work is my calling, and I take treating mental health conditions as seriously as I take any other important role in my life.
I offer both in-person sessions in Lynnwood and online therapy options to accommodate your needs. Online anxiety treatment can be just as effective as in-person sessions and offers flexibility for busy schedules or for women dealing with social anxiety disorder or separation anxiety.
Your Journey: What to Expect
Getting Started
We'll begin with a free consultation where you can share what's going on and ask questions about treating anxiety disorders. No pressure, no sales pitch – just an opportunity to see if we're a good fit.
If we decide to work together, I'll get you set up with my client portal and schedule a longer intake session. This is where we'll really understand your story, explore what you've tried before, and set goals for your mental health journey.
Ongoing Support
I provide consistent appointment times (like every Monday at 10am) and schedule three months at a time so you don't have to worry about booking individual sessions. Sometimes I'll suggest practices between sessions, but only if they feel helpful for your anxiety treatment.
I'm not available 24/7 for crisis support – part of healing from anxiety disorders is learning that you can handle difficult moments and trust your own resilience.
Progress and Growth
Healing isn't linear. Some sessions you'll feel breakthrough moments in your mental health, while others might feel challenging. We'll regularly check in about your progress and adjust our treatment plan as needed.
Maybe we'll start with individual therapy and add group sessions later. Perhaps we'll focus initially on generalized anxiety disorder and then explore your relationship with food. I'm flexible because healing is flexible.
Living Beyond Anxiety Disorders
My goal isn't just to help you manage anxiety – it's to help you heal from mental health conditions that have been limiting your life. This means:
Trusting Yourself Again: Rebuilding connection to your inner wisdom and learning to trust what you know about yourself, even when anxiety symptoms arise.
Setting Real Boundaries: Understanding why you say yes when you want to say no and addressing the underlying patterns that keep you overcommitted and overwhelmed.
Finding Your Voice: Learning that your thoughts, feelings, and needs matter, and that it's okay to take up space in the world without triggering anxiety.
Authentic Relationships: Moving away from people-pleasing and performance toward connections where you can be genuinely yourself.
Body Connection: Learning to feel safe in your own skin again and trusting your body's wisdom about what you need.
Taking the First Step
If you're tired of anxiety symptoms controlling your life, if you're ready to stop people-pleasing and start living authentically, or if you just want to feel at peace in your own body, change is possible.
You don't have to have everything figured out before starting anxiety therapy. You don't need perfect words to describe your mental health struggles. You just need to be willing to try something different.
I've seen women who thought they were too anxious, too damaged, or too stuck to ever feel different create profound changes in their lives. Healing from anxiety disorders is possible, and you deserve to feel at home in your own life.
You deserve relationships where you can be yourself. You deserve to trust your instincts and take up space. You deserve peace and freedom from the mental health conditions that have been weighing you down.
Ready to start your journey toward freedom from anxiety? Contact me today for your free consultation and let's explore how anxiety therapy can help you reclaim your life.
Serving women in Lynwood, WA and surrounding areas with both in-person and online anxiety treatment options.
