Evidence-based anxiety therapy in Mission Valley in San Diego and virtual care across California.

Anxiety Therapy in San Diego

You feel exhausted by overthinking, panic, worry, and constantly trying to stay ahead of what might go wrong.

Even when things seem “fine” on the outside, anxiety can make it difficult to sleep, focus, relax, or fully engage in your relationships and daily life.

Effective treatment can help you regain a sense of control, confidence, and calm.


When Anxiety Starts Taking Over Your Life

You’re tired of anxiety calling the shots. You want relief from the constant worry, tension, overthinking, and fear that keeps pulling you away from the life you want to live.

You might be experiencing:

  • Excessive worry that feels impossible to shut off

  • Panic attacks or fear of losing control

  • Racing thoughts that keep you up at night

  • Constant overthinking or rumination

  • Avoidance of situations that trigger anxiety

  • Feeling tense, restless, or on edge

  • Difficulty being fully present with people you care about

  • Anxiety that interferes with work, schoo, or daily life

  • Physical symptoms like nausea, chest tightness, dizziness or rapid heartbeat


What are Anxiety Disorders??

Understanding Anxiety Beyond “Stress”

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions, affecting more than 30% of adults at some point in their lives.

While anxiety is a normal human emotion, anxiety disorders involve persistent fear, worry, panic, or avoidance that significantly interferes with daily life, relationships, sleep, work, or overall well-being.

Many people with anxiety spend enormous energy trying to prevent discomfort, uncertainty, embarrassment, panic, or worst-case scenarios. Unfortunately, these coping strategies often provide only temporary relief while keeping anxiety cycles going long term.

With effective treatment, it is possible to change your relationship with anxiety and re-engage with life more fully.

an assortment of dried flowers against a white background
various kinds of white dried flowers in against a white background

Types of Anxiety We Treat

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

  • Panic Disorder

  • Social Anxiety Disorder

  • Agoraphobia

  • Specific Phobias

    • Excessive worry and rumination

    • Panic attacks

    • Fear of losing control

    • Health anxiety and medical fears

    • Anxiety-related insomnia

    • Fear of flying or public transportation

    • Anxiety in social or professional situations

    • Avoidance behaviors

    • Physical symptoms of anxiety

    • Perfectionism and burnout

    • Anxiety related to trauma or OCD

    • Difficulty tolerating uncertainty

Evidence-Based Anxiety Treatment

How therapy for anxiety works:

We specialize in evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders rooted in decades of clinical research.

Treatment begins with understanding how anxiety uniquely shows up in your life—what keeps it going, how it affects your relationships and goals, and the ways you may have learned to cope with it over time.

From there, we use therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you respond to anxiety differently rather than continuing to organize your life around avoiding it.

CBT allows you to directly approach thoughts and behaviors that are worsening your anxiety or providing only temporary relief. Skills learned in CBT will allow you to effectively face your anxiety head on and provide lasting and meaningful change.

ACT is often used to help you re-engage in your values, as anxiety often prevents us from doing what we love.

Over time, therapy can help you feel more capable of handling uncertainty, discomfort, and fear without anxiety controlling your decisions.

What Anxiety Therapy Can Look Like

Anxiety does not have to dictate your life

    • Better understand anxiety and what maintains it

    • Reduce avoidance behaviors

    • Learn to manage panic attacks and physical symptoms

    • Improve sleep disrupted by anxiety

    • Build tolerance for uncertainty and discomfort

    • Reconnect with relationships and meaningful activities

    • Develop confidence handling anxiety when it shows up

    • Feel more grounded and present in daily life

  • Sessions begin with a check-in about how things have been going, including any strategies or tools you practiced between sessions.

    From there, we focus on your treatment goals using evidence-based approaches tailored to your specific experience of anxiety. Sessions are both responsive to what is currently happening in your life and structured around helping you make meaningful long-term progress.

    Together, we identify patterns that may be keeping anxiety going, practice new ways of responding, and apply these skills to situations outside of therapy.

    Each session ends with a summary and a plan for continuing the work between sessions, because meaningful change happens both inside and outside the therapy room.

  • Anxiety may still show up at times, but it no longer has to control your choices or dictate the direction of your life.

    Over time, many people experience:

    • greater confidence handling difficult emotions

    • less fear of panic or uncertainty

    • improved sleep and concentration

    • stronger relationships

    • more freedom and flexibility in daily life

    • increased self-trust

    • a greater ability to stay present and engaged in what matters most

Anxiety Therapy in San Diego & Online in California

In-person in Mission Valley + telehealth options

We offer in-person Anxiety therapy in San Diego (Mission Valley) as well as virtual therapy across California. Our work is focused on adults seeking evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders.

Anxiety doesn't have to keep you stuck any longer

Anxiety doesn't have to keep you stuck any longer —

Start Anxiety Therapy in San Diego

We offer free 15-minute consultation calls to help you determine if this approach is the right fit for you. This is an opportunity to ask questions, learn more about how we work, and explore what next steps could look like.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about Anxiety Therapy

  • Anxiety therapy at California OCD and Anxiety Psychologists is focused on helping you directly understand and change the patterns that keep anxiety going rather than simply talking through stressors from week to week.

    We use evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which are supported by decades of clinical research for anxiety disorders. Sessions are structured around your specific goals and tailored to the ways anxiety uniquely shows up in your life.

    Together, we work to understand the relationship between your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and physical symptoms of anxiety so you can begin responding differently rather than remaining stuck in cycles of avoidance, panic, overthinking, or worry.

    Our goal is not to eliminate anxiety completely, but to help you feel more capable, grounded, and able to engage in the life you want even when anxiety shows up.

  • We work with adults experiencing a wide range of anxiety disorders and anxiety-related concerns, including:

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

    • Panic Disorder

    • Agoraphobia

    • Social Anxiety Disorder

    • Specific Phobias

    • Health anxiety

    • Excessive worry and rumination

    • Anxiety-related insomnia

    • Panic attacks

    • Perfectionism and burnout

    • Anxiety connected to OCD or trauma

    We understand that anxiety rarely looks exactly the same from person to person. Treatment is personalized to your specific symptoms, goals, and lived experiences.

  • Yes. Panic attacks can feel overwhelming, frightening, and physically intense, but they are highly treatable with evidence-based therapy.

    Many people begin to organize their lives around trying to avoid future panic attacks, which can unintentionally make anxiety stronger over time. Therapy helps you better understand the physical sensations of panic, reduce fear surrounding those experiences, and develop more effective ways of responding when anxiety shows up.

    Over time, many clients experience reduced panic symptoms, greater confidence in their ability to handle anxiety, and less fear of losing control.

  • The length of therapy varies depending on your goals, symptoms, and the ways anxiety is impacting your daily life.

    Some people begin noticing meaningful changes within a few months of consistent treatment, while others benefit from longer-term support—especially when anxiety has been present for many years or occurs alongside other concerns such as OCD, trauma, or depression.

    Throughout therapy, we regularly monitor progress together and adjust treatment as needed to ensure the work remains aligned with your goals.

  • Yes. We offer virtual anxiety therapy throughout California and Florida, as well as in-person therapy in Mission Valley, San Diego.

    Telehealth allows many clients to access specialized anxiety treatment from the comfort of home while still engaging in structured, evidence-based care.

    We also offer afternoon and evening appointments to help accommodate work, school, caregiving responsibilities, and busy schedules.

  • This is very common.

    Anxiety frequently overlaps with conditions such as OCD, trauma/PTSD, and insomnia. We have specialized training and experience treating anxiety alongside these co-occurring concerns and work collaboratively to understand how these patterns interact with one another in your life.

    Treatment is individualized based on your most pressing areas of impairment and the goals that matter most to you. We take time to understand the “why” behind symptoms and create a personalized plan that addresses the full picture of your experience rather than treating concerns in isolation.

    Explore OCD Therapy →

    Explore Trauma / PTSD Therapy →

    Explore Insomnia Therapy →

relief from anxiety is within reach

reach out today

relief from anxiety is within reach — reach out today —