Anxiety Therapy

in Portland, OR

Is Anxiety, Panic, or Worry Taking Over Your Life?

Do you find yourself worrying constantly about things, even when you know the worrying isn’t helping?
Do you feel like your life has become constricted or your choices limited because of anxiety or panic?
Do you struggle to relax or constantly feel tense?
Do you have problems sleeping at night because your mind will not shut down?
Do you experience panic attacks that may be triggered by something specific or may seem to come out of the blue?

If you are struggling with anxiety, it can have a huge impact on your life. You may find yourself avoiding things or not wanting to leave your home to face the challenges that the day will bring. You might struggle at work or school because it is hard to keep focused when you have that constant undercurrent of anxiety or self-doubt. Maybe you stay away from certain places out of fear of having a panic attack. All of these things can make it feel like your choices in life are more driven by your anxiety than by you.

The Physical and Emotional Toll

Anxiety and chronic worry can have a huge impact on your ability to concentrate, and on your mood and motivation. The constant physical tension including tight shoulders, churning stomach, or shallow breathing can feed into the cycle of anxiety, keeping you stuck.

With the help of evidence-based anxiety therapy, you can learn to reclaim your life from anxiety and worry so that you can live with greater freedom of choice, expanded engagement with life, and connection to what you enjoy and is meaningful to you.

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You Are Not Alone in This Struggle

While a certain amount of anxiety, in the right situations, is healthy and adaptive, anxiety can become maladaptive when our brain starts to respond with fear in situations where it is not warranted, or overestimates the likelihood that something bad will happen. When these fears are combined with worry, rumination, and avoidance, it can start to feel like your whole life is taken up by anxiety.

Many people do not realize it, but anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed mental health problem in the US, affecting approximately 40 million adults in this country alone. So if you have anxiety, you are not alone.

In addition, many people have experienced traumatic events during their childhood or adult life that further fuel anxiety. For LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, BIPOC individuals and other groups that also face systemic discrimination and marginalization, minority stress and systemic challenges can compound these difficulties. So if you find yourself needing help dealing with anxiety, there are tens of millions of people in the US who are in a similar spot.

Seeking Help Is a Sign of Strength

Unfortunately, many people see their anxiety as a personal weakness or something they just need to suck up and deal with. But that could not be further from the truth. Contacting an anxiety therapist for help is a sign of strength and a step toward a more hopeful future.

The good news is that there are effective, concrete skills that can help you take back your life from anxiety. Working with a compassionate therapist specializing in evidence-based anxiety therapy can help you develop practical ways to deal with worry so that you can get out of your mind and into living life more fully.

Evidence-Based Anxiety Treatment That Actually Works

Anxiety is highly treatable with the right approach. While general talk therapy may not be enough to really help with many forms of more severe or chronic anxiety, there are evidence-based approaches that have been shown to be highly effective. Most people see significant improvement when they receive specialized, evidence-based anxiety treatment.

At Portland Psychotherapy, we provide structured, evidence-based anxiety disorder therapy that has been shown to work in scientific studies. We specialize in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy with robust research support for treating anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety, and OCD. But this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Our therapists will work with you to tailor a treatment that is unique to you, your history, and your circumstances.

What Makes Our Approach Different

ACT takes a fundamentally different approach: rather than fighting anxiety, you learn to change your relationship with it.

When you begin sessions at our anxiety specialty clinic, you will learn concrete, practical skills that will help you be present with difficult thoughts and feelings while still taking action toward what matters most to you.

What to Expect in Anxiety Therapy Sessions

Our approach is active and collaborative. In sessions, we will work together to:

Understand how avoidance and control strategies maintain your anxiety
Learn to notice anxious thoughts and feelings without being as influenced by them
Learn to move toward what matters to you even when anxiety makes that uncomfortable
Respond to anxiety with openness and curiosity rather than avoidance or struggle
Use gradual, structured exposure when appropriate, including for panic disorder, OCD, phobias, social anxiety, trichotillomania, and skin picking
Provide specialized social anxiety treatment for those who struggle with fear of judgment, embarrassment, or social situations

Why the Anxiety Clinic at Portland Psychotherapy?

We have carefully built a team of experts in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders. Together they have decades of experience and collaborate as a team to ensure that you are getting the very best anxiety disorder treatment. Among our specialists are leaders in the field who:

Conduct scientific research on cutting-edge anxiety disorder treatments
Train other therapists around the world in using evidence-based approaches
Write extensively on these topics, including books for therapists about modern approaches to anxiety treatment
Supervise other therapists in providing the most effective and efficient treatments for anxiety and related difficulties

Part of what sets Portland Psychotherapy apart is our commitment to the scientist-practitioner model. Our unique business model means that the revenue from our clinical services funds the ongoing research we conduct at our center, keeping us at the forefront of evidence-based treatment. When you work with us, you benefit from therapists who are exceptionally well-trained and who stay current on what research says actually works in the treatment of anxiety.

Common Questions About Anxiety Therapy.

What if therapy does not work for me? I have tried to manage this on my own and nothing has helped.

If previous attempts to manage anxiety have not worked, it does not mean you cannot get better. It may mean the approach was not the right fit. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is fundamentally different from just talking about your feelings with a compassionate listener. ACT actively teaches concrete skills that can produce real changes in how you live day to day. ACT has strong research support specifically for anxiety disorders, and our specialized expertise means we can tailor the approach to what you are struggling with. During our free phone consultation, we can discuss your previous experiences and whether our approach might offer something different. Our goal is to help you find the resources that will work for you and your unique situation, whether that is working with one of our therapists or something else.

I do not have time for therapy right now with work and other responsibilities.

We understand that anxiety often makes life feel overwhelming, and adding one more thing can feel impossible. Here is what we have seen: when people invest time in evidence-based counseling for their anxiety disorder, they often find they have more time and energy because they are not exhausting themselves managing anxiety. Many clients find that one hour per week in therapy saves them countless hours of worry, avoidance, and mental spinning. We also offer flexibility with scheduling, including early morning and telehealth options to fit your life.

Therapy is expensive and I am not sure I can afford it.

We believe everyone deserves access to quality mental health care. Many of our therapists are in-network with some insurers, and we can work with all insurance plans’ out-of-network benefits. We can help you understand your options and costs before you begin. It is also worth knowing that anxiety treatment tends to be time-limited: most people make meaningful progress in a focused course of therapy rather than years of ongoing sessions. Think of it as an investment with a defined endpoint, not an open-ended commitment.

Portland Psychotherapy

You Can Build a Life Beyond Anxiety

Recovery does not mean never feeling anxious again; it means anxiety no longer limits your choices. Our evidence-based approach can help you build a fulfilling life where you pursue what matters despite anxiety, not because it is gone.

If you would like to schedule a free phone consultation or discuss any questions you have about anxiety therapy, please contact us at (503) 281-4852 or contact us online. We typically respond to all voicemails and emails within 24 hours.

3719 N Williams Ave,
Portland, OR 97227