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Although everyone experiences times of worry, stress, or nervousness from time to time, intense anxiety can impact your ability to live the life you want. At Willow Anxiety and OCD, we are experts in the treatment of anxiety, offering you evidence-based therapies that successfully impact anxiety. You’ll learn to manage your own anxiety and begin to feel better in a short period of time. 

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We treat the following anxiety disorders -

Anxiety Disorders

Social Anxiety Disorder 

Many people with social anxiety disorder consider themselves shy and often feel uncomfortable in new situations. You may have social anxiety disorder if you experience the following:

SAD

Anxious or uncomfortable feelings in social settings

Fear that you may embarrass or humiliate yourself in front of others 

Desire for a more fulfilling social life but you avoid dating and parties

You want to improve your professional life but turn down presentation opportunities and avoid public speaking

You minimize activities where you might be observed, such as eating at a restaurant or using a public restroom 

You struggle to initiate or maintain conversations, and have a hard time stating your opinion or asking others to change

We use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to teach you how to change your thoughts and beliefs, improve your ability to cope with anxiety, and minimize avoidance behaviors. During treatment, we will practice situations using role-play or exposures, so you can learn new, more effective ways to respond in social settings. Additionally, we accompany you in the community to do exposures to situations you tend to avoid. 

 

As you are exposed to social situations with your therapist, you’ll be coached through challenging circumstances and gain the skills and strategies you need. Your clinician will also customize homework for you to work on in real-life with a new set of tools. You’ll learn to approach social experiences with more self-confidence and develop behaviors that lead you to a more fulfilling life.  

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about social situations and your ability to cope

Behavioral Tools

Role plays/exposures in session and for homework to face situations that you’re avoiding

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Panic Disorder

Panic attacks can appear out of the blue, and cause you to feel tremendous anxiety. People who suffer from panic disorder often avoid situations they fear may trigger an attack, and worry about when the next attack will strike. Struggling with panic can have a significant impact on your life, as you become more fearful and limit your ability to live the life you want. If you’ve been experiencing panic disorder, you are likely to:

Panic Disorder

Have episodes of intense fear, that can include racing heart, sweating, inability to focus, shaking, shivering, palpitations, abdominal distress, tunnel vision, hot flashes, chills 

Avoid tasks or places where you worry you might have a panic attack

Ask someone to accompany you in situations where you previously were able to go alone

Fear being in places where you might be ‘trapped’ without an easy exit

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Panic Disorder

We can help you overcome panic disorder using evidence-based treatment that has shown to be very effective.  Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), we provide you with tools that change how you think about your thoughts and beliefs. You’ll gain internal skills that help to minimize the frequency and intensity of panic, and teach you how to cope.

 

We use interoceptive exposure treatment, a form of CBT where your clinician will gradually and carefully induce symptoms similar to those of a panic attack during a session. This teaches you how to cope with the symptoms, and then we will face the places and tasks you’ve been avoiding. Panic disorder can feel very scary, but with effective treatment, you’ll gain skills and internal tools to manage your panic and regain your life.

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about panic and your ability to cope with it

Behavioral Tools

Interoceptive exposures (bringing on symptoms similar to those of a panic attack in session) and teaching you ways to cope with it. We will then face the places and tasks you’ve been avoiding

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Specific Phobias

If you have intense fears about specific places or things, you may be struggling with specific phobias.  People who suffer from phobias tend to avoid what they fear, and this avoidance can interfere with daily functioning. Common phobias include:

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Tunnels

Bridges

Large open spaces

Small closed spaces (claustrophobia)

Water

Heights

Animals, insects, or bugs

Blood and injections

Driving

Flying

Specific Phobias

If you have intense fears about specific places or things, you may be struggling with specific phobias

People who suffer from phobias tend to avoid what they fear, and this avoidance can interfere with daily functioning

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Specific Phobias

Your fear will subside and you’ll learn to effectively deal with what you fear most through exposure therapy.  Through graduated exposure, we’ll teach you to face your fears, starting with the least difficult approximation of the feared object and moving to the more difficult ones. We will do exposures in the office and outside where the feared objects exist. We’ll provide you with new ways to think about your thoughts and beliefs relating to the feared object/situation, which will help to reduce your anxiety and avoidance behaviors. We’ll help you gain comfort when exposed to what you fear, and stop the avoidance behavior that has been limiting your ability to live your life according to your goals and values.

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about the specific thing you’re afraid of

Behavioral Tools

Through graduated exposure, we will teach you to face your fears starting with the least difficult approximation of the feared object and moving to the more difficult ones. We will do exposures in the office and outside where the feared objects exist

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Experiencing or witnessing a traumatic or life-threatening event or situation can lead to PTSD. If you are suffering from symptoms of PTSD, you may be experiencing the following:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD

Nightmares, flashbacks, traumatic memories

Avoidance of people, places, memories of the event

Social detachment, numbness, loss of interest or pleasure, blame, negative beliefs, amnesia

Increased irritability, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, difficulty concentrating and sleeping, recklessness

We can help you cope better with PTSD using CBT tools. Prolonged Exposure (PE) is the gold standard treatment for PTSD. We will help you work through the painful memories of the trauma in a safe and controlled space. We will also help you face situations and memories that you may be avoiding so you can live a full and meaningful life. As we work on the exposures, we will help you tackle negative beliefs that may have formed during or after the traumatic event.

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for PTSD

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about yourself and the world originating from the trauma

Behavioral Tools

Exposure work to address the painful memories and tapering off all avoidance

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

People with generalized anxiety disorder often describe themselves as endless worriers, with an overall fear that anything can go wrong. If you’re plagued by Generalized Anxiety Disorder, you may:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

GAD

Worry uncontrollably about a number of things in your life, such as: health, work, finances, social relationships, existential issues, world affairs, mortality, or getting things done on time

Experience trouble sleeping, with muscle tension and bouts of insomnia

Have the (misguided) belief that worrying is an active, effective form of problem solving

Feel that your anxiety is getting in the way of living a meaningful life 

We can help you cope better with worry using CBT tools that change how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about worry. You’ll be able to reduce the time and energy spent worrying and gain the ability to accept uncertainty.  We’ll provide insights and strategies so that you refrain from engaging in worry cycles, and teach you proactive behaviors that allow you to live a life without excessive anxiety. Mindfulness strategies are also helpful for coping with excessive worry. 

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about worry and the things you’re worried about. Learning to accept uncertainty

Behavioral Tools

Refraining from engaging in avoidance and worry cycles and instead using proactive behaviors and mindfulness strategies

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Periods of heightened separation anxiety from attachment figures and locations are part of normal early development. However, people and children with separation anxiety and school refusal often experience excessive fear or anxiety concerning the separation from those to whom the individual is attached. You or your child may be experiencing separation anxiety/school refusal if you experience:

Separation Anxiety / School Refusal

Separation Anxiety/School Refusal

Significant disruption in work or social experiences because of needing to continuously check on the whereabouts of a significant other

Persistent worry about losing major attachement figures or possible harm (illness, injury, death, kidnappings, etc.)

Reluctance or refusal to go out, away from home, to school, to work, elsewhere

Repeated nightmares involving themes of separation

Repeated complaints of physical symptoms (headaches, stomachaches, nausea, vomiting) or panic attacks when separation is anticipated or occurs

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Separation Anxiety and School Refusal

We can help you overcome separation anxiety by using evidence-based treatment that has shown to be very effective. Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), we provide you with tools that change how you think about your thoughts and beliefs. You’ll gain internal skills by learning how to face and manage fears about separation.

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about separations and uncertainty and your ability to cope

Behavioral Tools

Role plays/exposures in session and for homework to expand your communication abilities

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Selective Mutism

Many children with selective mutism will choose to speak in their homes and in the presence of immediate family members but often have extreme shyness around others. Your child might be suffering from selective mutism if they experience:

Selective Mutism

Fear of social embarrassment by providing an incorrect answer, social evaluation, or fear of a negative reaction

Social isolation, withdrawal, excessive shyness

Family and classroom accommodations such as hand signals, whispering responses, parents talking for child, etc.

Reverting to nonverbal communication such as grunting, pointing, or writing

How We Can Help:
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Selective Mutism

We use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to teach you how to change your thoughts and beliefs, improve your ability to cope with anxiety, and minimize avoidance behaviors. During treatment, we will practice situations using role-play and exposures, so you can learn new, more effective ways to respond in social settings. Additionally, we accompany you in the community to do exposures to situations you tend to avoid speaking in.

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As you are exposed to social situations with your therapy, you'll be coached through challenging circumstances and gain the skills and strategies you need. Your clinician will also customize homework for you to work on in real-life with a new set of tools. You'll learn to approach social experiences with more self-confidence and develop behaviors that lead you to a more fulfilling life.

Cognitive Tools

Changing how you think about your thoughts and beliefs about social situations and your ability to cope

Behavioral Tools

Role plays/exposures in session and for homework to expand your communication abilities

Values

Use of cognitive and behavioral tools to live a more fulfilling life

Resources

​Anxiety and Depression Association of America
http://www.adaa.org/
 
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
http://www.abct.org/
 

American Psychological Association

http://apa.org/

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