Therapy for Anxiety and Emotional Overwhelm

You look capable. Inside, you’re exhausted from managing the noise
You’re getting the day done. Answering the emails, picking up the kids, returning the texts, smiling in the meeting. But the part of you no one sees is running the whole time.

Call me directly. We'll start there.

Therapy

Schedule a Call

Racing thoughts. Overthinking. The 2 a.m. voice:

"What did I
miss today?"

"What's wrong with me that I can't just relax?"

"Why am I so behind?"

First Things
First.

You’re not broken. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do.
If you’re ready to stop white-knuckling your way through the day, that’s the work we do here.

What Anxiety Looks Like
for my Clients

The women who reach out to me about anxiety rarely look anxious from the outside. They are, by most measures, doing well. Careers in motion. Households running. Kids fed. The people around them often have no idea anything is wrong. What they describe once they sit down sounds more like this:

Avoiding tasks that feel disproportionately heavy

 Trouble sleeping, even when exhausted

A sense of being one bad day away from falling apart

Thoughts that won't slow down, especially at night

 A chest that feels tight before they can name why

Replaying conversations long after they ended

Snapping at the people they love most, then spiraling in guilt

If any of this is familiar, you're not alone, and you're not exaggerating. This is what high-functioning anxiety actually looks like.
WHY IT FEELS UNMANAGEABLE
The reason willpower doesn’t fix this is because anxiety isn’t a willpower problem. It’s a nervous system response.
When your brain reads a present moment through the lens of an unprocessed past, your body responds as if the threat is happening now. Your heart speeds up. Your breath shortens. Your thoughts narrow. The part of you that knows you’re safe gets overridden by the part of you that’s bracing.
Intelligence and discipline don’t protect you from a nervous system running on outdated information. Therapy doesn’t get rid of stress. It changes how your system responds to it.

How We Treat Anxiety and Emotional Overwhelm

I use two evidence-based approaches in sequence: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

01

Stabilize

We start with what’s happening right now. Using CBT, we identify the thought patterns and triggers driving your anxiety, name them out loud, and build practical tools you can use the same day. This is where rumination begins to loosen and sleep often starts to improve.

02

Process

When you’re steady enough, we go deeper. Using EMDR, we work with the unresolved experiences quietly fueling your reactivity. EMDR allows your brain to process events that have stayed emotionally charged, so the present stops being filtered through them.

03

Integrate

What we do in session, you practice between sessions. You start noticing yourself respond instead of react. The 2 a.m. voice gets quieter. Your day starts to feel like a day, not a performance.

Symptoms first. Then roots. Then a new way of living that works better for you and the people you love.

When Anxiety Becomes Emotional Overwhelm

Anxiety is one signal. Emotional overwhelm is what happens when the signals stack faster than you can process them. It can look like:
  • Crying without being able to say exactly why
  • Feeling numb in the middle of a workday
  • A sense that everything is urgent at once
  • Wanting to disappear for an afternoon
  • Having reactions that feel bigger than the situation
Overwhelm isn’t a weakness. It can be a sign that you’ve been carrying too much for too long. Our work is about processing what you’re carrying, creating space to breathe, and learning what you can let go of.
WHO I WORK WITH
Most of my anxiety clients are adult women. Many are mothers. Many are professionals. Many are still trying to figure it all out. 
They tend to be high-functioning, internally critical, and tired of feeling like the only thing standing between their life and a meltdown is willpower.

What Changes

Within the first six sessions, most of my clients say they feel calmer, sleep better, and start to recognize themselves again. Patterns get clearer. Reactions get smaller. There’s more space between trigger and response.
Longer term, the goal isn’t a flat, neutral life. It’s a grounded one. A nervous system that doesn’t go to red over yellow. A mind that gets quiet enough to hear itself. A version of you that trusts your  own judgment again.

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety Therapy

How do I know if I have anxiety, or if I'm just stressed?


Stress responds to circumstance. When the deadline passes, the stress lifts. Anxiety doesn’t follow that pattern. If your nervous system feels activated even when nothing specific is wrong, or if rest doesn’t actually rest you, that’s worth taking seriously.

Will I need medication for anxiety?


That’s a decision between you and a prescriber. Many of my clients work with both a therapist and a psychiatrist. I’m comfortable working alongside a medication plan, and I’m equally comfortable working with clients who aren’t on medication.

How long does anxiety therapy usually take?


Most clients begin to feel real relief within the first six sessions. Deeper root work takes longer and varies by person. We’ll talk about timeline together, and I’ll be honest about what I see.

What's the difference between CBT and EMDR for anxiety?


CBT works with your present thinking and behavior. EMDR works with the unresolved experiences underneath. CBT gives you tools you can use today. EMDR addresses why those tools have to work so hard in the first place. Together, they cover both the surface and the source.

Do you offer virtual anxiety therapy sessions?


Yes. I offer in-person and secure telehealth sessions for clients in California. Many of my clients prefer virtual for convenience. Some prefer in-person for the grounding effect of being in the same room. Both work.

Ready to Begin?

If your anxiety has gotten louder than your life, call me. We’ll start with one question: Tell me what’s going on. I’ll listen while you get it off your chest. If we’re a good match, we’ll begin.
Schedule a Call