Anxiety Specialist
It’s normal to have feelings of anxiety occasionally; however, if it is a chronic problem that affects your daily life, you may have an anxiety disorder. Robert Jaffe, Ph.D, LMFT, in Encino, California, provides individualized and compassionate therapy for those struggling with an anxiety disorder. To get help for your anxiety, call the office or schedule an appointment online today.
Anxiety Q&A
Anxiety refers to the feelings of fear, unease, or worry that happen under stressful situations. Your anxiety may also trigger physical symptoms, such as excessive sweating or a rapid heartbeat.
These feelings are normal and usually go away once the stressful situation is over. However, if you have persistent feelings of unease, dread, or worry that affect your day-to-day life, you may be struggling with an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders are mental health conditions that affect up to 40 million people in the United States; it’s not a problem you just “get over.” Like other mental health conditions, anxiety disorders benefit from treatment, including psychotherapy.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
GAD causes excessive fear, worry, or unease about everyday things such as health, work, or bills.
Phobias
Phobias are anxiety disorders that cause excessive fear about situations or things, such as fear of flying or spiders. Though it’s normal to have some anxiety over particular conditions or objects, with a phobia, the intensity of the fear far outweighs the actual danger.
Panic disorder
With a panic disorder, you have frequent, unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack causes paralyzing fear that develops suddenly and lasts a few minutes. During a panic attack, you may also have heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, or chest pain.
He then talks to you about your therapy needs, including areas he’d like to focus on. Then, together, you decide the frequency of your therapy sessions.
Dr. Jaffe uses various therapeutic techniques to help you better understand your anxiety disorder and develop strategies to improve your emotional response to stress, including clinical hypnosis when appropriate. He continues treatment for as long as you need help.
Anxiety disorders may affect your ability to manage your daily life. For expert care, call the office of Robert Jaffe, Ph.D, LMFT, or schedule a consultation online today.
Treatment for Anxiety – Dr. Jaffe Can Help
Seeking therapy is the most important first step in managing anxiety. I am confident that we can work together to help you overcome your anxiety and live your life to the fullest.
I use a multi-method, eclectic approach to treatment of anxiety symptoms. I draw from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help people manage anxious thoughts and feelings. CBT is one of the most effective treatment options for people with anxiety (Otto, Smits, & Reese, 2004).
We start with the informed consent process and discuss confidentiality. I then conduct a simple intake interview, where we talk about your life’s story. Your journey is important to my process as a therapist, as I want to understand your life in context. From there, therapy is based on your goals and desired outcome. For anxiety, we might begin by managing your symptoms.
Over time, we will work to get to “the root” of the anxious symptoms. As anxiety is often based in avoidance, we will work together to identify (and change) behaviors that enable anxious feelings. We will also explore triggers of anxiety, and work towards desensitization – which means triggers no longer spark anxious feelings.
As we continue to meet, you will notice significant changes in your feelings of anxiety. No longer will your worries keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Therapy will help you learn critical skills for managing symptoms of anxiety, such as:
I believe that, with the right support, you have the power to free yourself from your anxiety. I want to help you make that change.
References
Baxter, A. J., Scott, K. M., Vos, T., & Whiteford, H. A. (2013). Global prevalence of anxiety disorders: a systematic review and meta-regression. Psychological medicine, 43(5), 897-910.
Borkovec, T. D., & Ruscio, A. M. (2001). Psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Kendall, P. C., Flannery-Schroeder, E., Panichelli-Mindel, S. M., Southam-Gerow, M., Henin, A., & Warman, M. (1997). Therapy for youths with anxiety disorders: A second randomized clincal trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 65(3), 366.
Otto, M. W., Smits, J. A., & Reese, H. E. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 65, 34-41.
Silverman, W. K., Pina, A. A., & Viswesvaran, C. (2008). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37(1), 105-130.
van Beljouw, I. M., Verhaak, P. F., Cuijpers, P., van Marwijk, H. W., & Penninx, B. W. (2010). The course of untreated anxiety and depression, and determinants of poor one-year outcome: a one-year cohort study. BMC psychiatry, 10(1), 86.
Yelin, E., Mathias, S. D., Buesching, D. P., Rowland, C., Calucin, R. Q., & Fifer, S. (1996). The impact on employment of an intervention to increase recognition of previously untreated anxiety among primary care physicians. Social Science & Medicine, 42(7), 1069-1075.
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818-906-7079