Therapy for
Anxiety Disorders
want to get your life back from overwhelming anxiety, panic, or phobias? imagine being empowered to reclaim control over your life.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a highly effective and evidence-based therapeutic approach, has been changing lives for people battling anxiety disorders. If you're navigating the challenges of a debilitating anxiety disorder, CBT could be the key to your recovery.
Understanding Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety occurs when persistent worry, fear, or nervousness becomes overwhelming, making it difficult to manage day-to-day activities. It often manifests with physical sensations such as a racing heart, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing. Evidence-based therapy helps clients challenge negative thought patterns, modify responses to feared situations, and find ways to calm the body.
Anxiety disorders can vary widely, from generalized anxiety about daily life to intense fear in specific situations. People with anxiety may experience symptoms such as restlessness, fatigue, poor concentration, dizziness, or tense muscles. These symptoms often lead to avoidance behaviors, impairing functioning at work, home, and in relationships.
Who We Help
We provide therapy services for adults in-person in San Diego and virtually throughout California who are experiencing:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
Persistent, uncontrollable worry about various aspects of life, such as health, work, or finances, often accompanied by symptoms like fatigue, poor concentration, or sleep problems.
Panic Disorder:
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks characterized by intense fear and physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or dizziness. Clients may avoid situations that could trigger an attack.
Social Anxiety Disorder:
Fear of social situations where one may face negative evaluation, leading to avoidance of interactions or performing in front of others.
Agoraphobia:
Anxiety about being in places where escape might be difficult, such as crowded areas or open spaces, resulting in avoidance of these environments.
Specific Phobias:
Intense fear of specific objects or situations, like flying or needles, that impacts daily functioning.
Separation Anxiety Disorder:
Excessive fear about being separated from attachment figures, often resulting in reluctance to leave home or repeated physical symptoms during separation.
Through compassionate and individualized care, we address these challenges to empower our clients toward greater well-being.
Our THerapeutic Approach
Compassionate Care. Real Impakt.
San Diego’s Impakt Institute is committed to utilizing gold standard, evidence-based therapeutic modalities. As such, we utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to treat generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and phobias. Sessions include psychoeducation, skill-building, and real-world application to reduce anxiety symptoms and improve coping strategies. Mindfulness techniques are also integrated to help clients shift focus to the present moment.
Why Is CBT the Gold Standard treatment for anxiety disorders?
Extensive research has shown that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most effective treatment for anxiety disorders. CBT has been proven highly effective in addressing the underlying thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to anxiety. This treatment is proven to help with symptom management and quality of life, often with long-lasting results.
What Clients Can Expect
Therapy for anxiety is structured, collaborative, and supportive, ensuring clients feel safe while gradually stepping out of their comfort zones. Through this process, clients work closely with their therapist to tailor treatment plans, making sure strategies are practical and applicable to daily life. This collaboration helps clients differentiate between real and perceived threats, challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, and face their fears with confidence, fostering meaningful and lasting progress.
The Therapeutic Process
Our work begins with a thorough assessment to understand presenting symptoms and establish treatment goals. From there, therapy sessions provide a consistent and supportive environment where clients will:
Learn evidence-based strategies to manage anxiety symptoms.
Develop practical coping skills through guided practice and feedback.
Gradually build confidence to approach rather than avoid challenging situations.
Though modified per client needs, therapy typically includes 20 sessions, held weekly, for noticeable improvement. We offer in-person therapy in San Diego and virtual therapy statewide in California.
Session Structure
Each session follows a structured outline designed for progress:
Skill Development:
Learn and practice a new skill during the session.
Progress Monitoring:
Review anxiety measures every two weeks.
Skill Application:
Receive homework to practice newly learned skills in daily life.
This consistent structure ensures therapy remains focused and goal-oriented, helping clients see measurable improvements as they reach their goals over time.
Evidence-Based Care
We utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a time-limited, structured, and evidence-based treatment. CBT focuses on identifying and challenging maladaptive thoughts and behaviors while fostering healthier patterns. Weekly homework assignments encourage clients to apply these skills in real-world settings, promoting long-term progress.
Throughout this journey, clients and therapists act as a team, with the therapist in the role of a coach. While anxiety can feel isolating, our goal is to create a space of understanding and alliance, empowering clients to take meaningful steps toward a better quality of life.
Success Stories: Finding Freedom with CBT
A 17-year-old aspiring Air Force recruit struggled with a severe fear of injections, avoiding necessary medical care like vaccinations, blood tests, and surgical procedures. His phobia not only impacted his health but also stood in the way of his dream of enlisting in the military.
Through CBT and exposure therapy, he gradually overcame his fear, successfully undergoing a surgical procedure and gaining the confidence needed to meet enlistment requirements. With his anxiety no longer holding him back, he was able to move forward with his future plans.
Goals and Long-Term Progress
Common goals set by clients seeking treatment for anxiety disorders:
Reduction in worrying
Stop avoiding situations due to anxiety and live life according to their life goals and values
Know how to manage anxious thoughts and physical symptoms
Understand the purpose of their anxiety and how it operates
Being more present in their life rather than suffering inside their minds
While this list is not exhaustive, it offers a glimpse into the types of clients we support and the needs they bring to The Impakt Institute.
successful cbt treatment outcomes include:
Symptom reduction: Decrease in the intensity and frequency of anxiety symptoms
Improved self-awareness: Insight into how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, allowing for better self-regulation
Coping skills: Develop a toolbox of skills to manage anxiety in different situations
Functional improvements: Ability to participate in daily activities instead of avoiding, improvement in performance at work, home, and social settings
Long-term management skills: After treatment, individuals continue to experience reduced symptoms and maintain positive outcomes
Long-Term Benefits
Research has shown continued improvements in the reduction of anxiety symptoms 12 months after treatment completion (van Dis et al., 2020). CBT equips patients with the tools to manage their anxiety triggers and prevent relapses.
Van Dis, E. A., Van Veen, S. C., Hagenaars, M. A., Batelaan, N. M., Bockting, C. L., Van Den Heuvel, R. M., ... & Engelhard, I. M. (2020). Long-term outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety-related disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(3), 265-273.
Adapting Therapy to client’s unique Needs
If your symptoms are not decreasing, CBT may not be the therapy modality that works for you. In this situation, we may switch to another evidence-based treatment for the specific anxiety disorder. Depending on the symptom severity, the session frequency can be increased to twice a week. However, if more than 2 sessions/week is needed, it would be recommended for the client to be referred to a higher level of care.
Special Considerations or Exclusions
CBT is not suitable for those with more complex mental health needs or cognitive/learning impairments. Should CBT not be the best fit for you, we will work with you to find the appropriate treatment for your needs.
Ready to start therapy?
◇
Ready to start therapy? ◇
You don’t have to face this journey alone—help is here. At The Impakt Institute, we’re committed to helping you take the first steps toward a life of greater freedom and fulfillment.
In addition to specialized therapy for anxiety disorders, we provide culturally competent, evidence-based care for Eating Disorders, PTSD, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Contact us today to schedule your free 15-minute consultation and discover how we can support you on your path to recovery and healing.