Grand Rapids Anxiety Therapy - Anxiety Counseling

What therapy is best for anxiety?

The best therapy for anxiety in my experience involves both cognitive and behavioral interventions. For that reason, MBCBT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) with exposure and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) are my treatments of choice.

Targeting both unhelpful thoughts while engaging in effective behaviors that target avoidance tendencies that are universally present in anxiety disorders, allows the person the most optimal recovery and the fullest engagement in enjoyable and meaningful social activities.

Should I go to anxiety therapy?

You should go to anxiety therapy if you notice that anxiety or stress are affecting your functioning. For example, you can ask yourself the following questions:  

• Is anxiety interfering with my sleep?

• Is it difficult to concentrate because of my anxiety?

• Is anxiety contributing to fatigue?

• Is anxiety contributing to muscle tension?

• Have I been more irritable than usual due to anxiety?

• Is anxiety affecting my relationships?

• Is anxiety affecting my work performance, productivity, and efficiency?

• Am I avoiding things that matter to me because of anxiety or fear?

• Would I be doing more of certain social activities if anxiety weren’t a problem?

• Have I or others noticed that I’ve been stressed out or on edge lately?

• Do you find yourself spending significant amounts of time most days thinking stressful thoughts or worrying about unwanted outcomes or worst-case scenarios?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you may benefit from anxiety therapy.

What happens in anxiety therapy?

This is what happens in Anxiety therapy:

Following an initial consult and evaluation, you will typically engage in weekly therapy sessions in person or online, 45-60 minutes per counseling session for approximately 12-16 weeks.

The duration of therapy may fluctuate, depending on the person's severity and engagement level. Each counseling session, during which I am highly empathic and supportive of the client, consists of a mood check, agenda setting, bridging from the previous session, working through new agenda items, receiving feedback from you, and agreeing on practice assignments between sessions. 

People often emphasize the therapy session itself, which is understandable, as I serve to guide and walk alongside you with helpful direction and counseling.

The majority of the progress, however, will come not during counseling but after you leave the meeting. As with learning any new skill, such as speaking a foreign language, playing the guitar, or learning to fly fish, the amount of practice will determine how good the person gets at the given skill. (How good would you get at speaking a language if you listened to a language teacher for one hour per week but never practiced speaking on your own?)

My goal for each person is autonomy and freedom, helping them become their own therapist who can deal with any life situation that comes their way. In essence, I wish to render myself obsolete. 

At the same time, I recognize that setbacks do occur from time to time, so I always welcome current and former patients who reach out for help with maintenance sessions or need to resume therapy during periods of increased stress or symptoms.

The key is to avoid catastrophizing and to recognize that we all experience fluctuating levels of anxiety based on many many factors, from our own unique developmental history, to social environment, to resiliency and vulnerability, to physical and medical health, to sleep, diet, and exercise, to medication, to substance use, to current life stressors. Attempting to sort this all out on your own can be daunting, but I bring many years of experience to help you in figuring it out and making things better for you.

What therapies exist for anxiety?

Therapies that exist for anxiety include individual psychotherapy or counseling, group psychotherapy, inpatient hospitalization, support groups, therapy and medication management.

The appropriate level of care will be determined through the assessment process, based on the pre-screening phone conversation and initial evaluation during the first session. As with all components of my approach, level of care decisions are made in collaboration with you, and your preferences take priority over other considerations, except in the case of life-threatening emergencies.

In short, I specialize in the treatment of anxiety disorders and have had the pleasure of counseling a great number of satisfied clients over my past 10-plus years in practice. I welcome joining with you on a journey toward increased meaning and reducing anxiety, so that you are in charge - not anxiety--and you can live the kind of life that you desire.