What type of therapy do I need for anxiety?

The "best" type of therapy for you depends entirely on your goals. Some approaches, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), are highly structured and focus on managing symptoms by challenging negative thought patterns. This can be very effective for developing immediate coping skills. However, if your anxiety feels deep-seated, relational, or connected to long-standing patterns of perfectionism and self-criticism, simply managing symptoms may feel incomplete. Our psychodynamic and relational approach is designed for those who want to understand the why behind their anxiety. We believe that lasting relief comes from exploring the roots of your anxiety: how it formed in the context of your life experiences, how it's kept going by old patterns, and how it impacts your relationships today. This deeper work aims to resolve the underlying conflicts that fuel the anxiety, helping you build a more solid and authentic sense of self.

How long does it take to feel better?

Many individuals begin to experience a sense of relief within the first few sessions. This initial relief often comes from the simple act of being deeply heard in a non-judgmental space and gaining new language to describe your experience. In this early phase of therapy, we focus on co-creating a safe, trusting relationship and may introduce mindfulness skills to help you feel more calm and grounded in your day-to-day life. Deeper, more lasting change unfolds over time. As our therapeutic trust grows, we can begin to explore the core patterns that maintain your anxiety. While we can't predict how long an anxiety episode lasts, we can change your relationship to it and reduce its power. The goal is not a "quick fix," but a sustainable shift in your relationship with yourself, which allows you to move through the world with more steadiness and self-respect.

Can therapy help with the physical symptoms of anxiety?

Yes, absolutely. Anxiety is not just a mental experience; it is a physical one. When your brain perceives a threat, whether it's a work deadline or a difficult memory, it activates the "fight or flight" response. This is what causes muscle tension, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, or sensations like pins and needles anxiety disorder. These symptoms are your body's valid way of telling you it's on high alert. A key part of our work is helping you calm this over-active nervous system. We integrate mindfulness and meditation tools for anxiety, using body-based awareness to help you notice where you feel anxiety in your body and respond with intention. By practicing these grounding skills, you learn to send your body safety signals, which in turn clarifies your thinking and helps you self-soothe effectively.

Therapy for Anxiety

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In-person and online therapy for anxiety, based in Brentwood, Los Angeles

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Our Approach to Working with Anxiety

Our work is warm, direct, and collaborative. We use a Psychodynamic and Relational approach, meaning we look beneath the surface of your anxiety to understand its origins. Anxiety rarely stands alone; it is often connected to deeper patterns, past experiences, and even unspoken family rules.

At Brentwood Therapy Collective, we offer clear, compassionate individual therapy for stress and anxiety for adults in Los Angeles, CA. Our work isn't about "quick fixes" or simply managing symptoms. We are here to help you slow down, understand the root of your anxiety, and build the practical skills you need to feel more solid and present in your life.

Unlike approaches that focus only on behavior, our goal is to help you make lasting change by:

Understanding the Roots: We explore why your anxiety shows up, connecting past experiences to your present challenges so you have more choice now.
Calming the System: We integrate Mindfulness and other grounding skills to help calm your nervous system, allowing you to sort facts from fear.
Building a Secure Relationship: Therapy provides a safe, steady relationship where you can be honest without judgment. This trust is the foundation for healing.

Understanding the Causes and Triggers of Anxiety

Anxiety is a complex experience, and it's often triggered by a combination of factors, not just one single thing. Part of our work together is to get curious about what activates your anxiety. Common causes and triggers include:

Significant Life Transitions: Major life changes, even positive ones, create uncertainty. This can include starting a new job, moving, ending a relationship, or becoming a parent. We offer specialized support for life transitions therapy for anxiety, including for anxiety after childbirth.
Workplace Pressure: High-stakes environments, unrealistic expectations, and chronic stress can lead to workplace anxiety and burnout. Learning how to cope with anxiety at work is a key focus for many of our clients.
Relational Stress: Conflict, disconnection, or feelings of insecurity in important relationships. This can be fueled by patterns of codependency and anxiety, where your sense of self gets lost in pleasing others.
Past Experiences: Unresolved past events, family history, or trauma can create a sensitized nervous system that is quick to perceive threats, even when you are safe.
Biological and Genetic Factors: A family history of anxiety, as well as your individual brain chemistry, can make you more predisposed to anxiety disorders.

Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety

Anxiety doesn't always look like panic attacks. For many high-achieving adults, it masquerades as productivity or perfectionism. These common signs and symptoms of anxiety are often mistaken for just "being stressed." You may be struggling if you experience:

A relentless inner critic or a constant "not enough" feeling
Chronic exhaustion, burnout, and difficulty "turning off" your brain
Procrastination driven by an intense fear of failure
Excessive worrying that’s difficult to control
Irritability and tension in your relationships
Over-apologizing, people-pleasing, or avoiding conflict
Difficulty concentrating
Physical symptoms like muscle tension, restlessness, or even sensations of numbness or pins and needles.

Specialized Support for Anxiety

Anxiety in Your Career and at Work

For high-achievers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, anxiety is often disguised as motivation or "high standards," but its real cost is exhaustion and burnout. The relentless internal pressure to perform, avoid failure, and constantly prove yourself can lead to procrastination, imposter syndrome, and difficulty setting professional boundaries. We address how this cycle affects your work life, helping you gain insight into these patterns. Our goal is to move you from a place of fear and self-criticism to a more sustainable, authentic way to succeed that is rooted in self-trust.

Anxiety in Relationships

Anxiety seeks control exactly where we need to be most vulnerable: our intimate connections. This can result in constantly second-guessing your partner's feelings, being highly reactive to perceived slights, or struggling with an intense fear of abandonment whenever you're apart. We specialize in helping you understand the origins of this relational insecurity, particularly if you find your self-worth is constantly tied to keeping others happy. Through therapy, you learn to establish secure self-worth, which allows you to break patterns of needing constant reassurance and build genuine closeness instead of doubt.

Anxiety from Life Transitions

Uncertainty is the fuel for anxiety, and major life changes, even positive ones, are defined by uncertainty. Whether you are navigating a geographical move, a career change, the emotional toll of a relationship ending, or the profound transition into parenthood (including during pregnancy or postpartum), these moments require steady, thoughtful support. We provide therapy to help you process the stress, grief, and excitement that come with these shifts, focusing on building your internal resources and resilience so you can find solid footing during periods of great flux.

Anxiety, ADHD, and Overwhelm in Women

A significant number of women experience anxiety and perfectionism as a rigid coping mechanism for underlying, and often undiagnosed, neurodivergence like ADHD. This overcompensation can lead to intense shame and chronic overwhelm. We specialize in this intersection, helping you untangle whether your symptoms stem from chronic anxiety, ADHD, or a combination of both. Our approach helps you move beyond the shame of feeling "scattered" or "too much," allowing you to understand your unique brain wiring and develop personalized strategies that truly work with you.

How Therapy Helps with Anxiety

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Our work is focused on helping you trade rigid self-criticism for steady self-respect. The goal is not to eliminate anxiety, as it's a normal human emotion, but to change your relationship with it.

Together, you will learn to:

Soften the inner critic and build genuine self-compassion.
Understand your triggers and respond with choice instead of reaction.
Set clear, effective boundaries at work and in your relationships.
Calm your nervous system with simple, practical grounding skills.
Tolerate uncertainty and how to deal with change anxiety.
Build genuine confidence that comes from deep self-understanding, not just external achievements.

Frequently Asked Questions about Anxiety

The "best" type of therapy for you depends entirely on your goals. Some approaches, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), are highly structured and focus on managing symptoms by challenging negative thought patterns. This can be very effective for developing immediate coping skills. However, if your anxiety feels deep-seated, relational, or connected to long-standing patterns of perfectionism and self-criticism, simply managing symptoms may feel incomplete.
Our psychodynamic and relational approach is designed for those who want to understand the why behind their anxiety. We believe that lasting relief comes from exploring the roots of your anxiety: how it formed in the context of your life experiences, how it's kept going by old patterns, and how it impacts your relationships today. This deeper work aims to resolve the underlying conflicts that fuel the anxiety, helping you build a more solid and authentic sense of self.
Many individuals begin to experience a sense of relief within the first few sessions. This initial relief often comes from the simple act of being deeply heard in a non-judgmental space and gaining new language to describe your experience. In this early phase of therapy, we focus on co-creating a safe, trusting relationship and may introduce mindfulness skills to help you feel more calm and grounded in your day-to-day life.
Deeper, more lasting change unfolds over time. As our therapeutic trust grows, we can begin to explore the core patterns that maintain your anxiety. While we can't predict how long an anxiety episode lasts, we can change your relationship to it and reduce its power. The goal is not a "quick fix," but a sustainable shift in your relationship with yourself, which allows you to move through the world with more steadiness and self-respect.
Yes, absolutely. Anxiety is not just a mental experience; it is a physical one. When your brain perceives a threat, whether it's a work deadline or a difficult memory, it activates the "fight or flight" response. This is what causes muscle tension, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, or sensations like pins and needles anxiety disorder. These symptoms are your body's valid way of telling you it's on high alert.
A key part of our work is helping you calm this over-active nervous system. We integrate mindfulness and meditation tools for anxiety, using body-based awareness to help you notice where you feel anxiety in your body and respond with intention. By practicing these grounding skills, you learn to send your body safety signals, which in turn clarifies your thinking and helps you self-soothe effectively.

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