Therapy for Anxiety
Are you frequently nervous or on-edge? Do your thoughts keep you up at night, constantly cycling through the stressors of life? Does your heart tend to race, body sweat and shake, or go into full-blown panic attacks? Are you overwhelmed, exhausted, and unsure where to turn?
My name is Jennifer Wagner, and I work with teens and adults from all over the city of Austin who struggle with anxiety. I strive to provide a safe, healing environment where you can feel supported, explore issues related to your anxiety, and gain helpful tools for diminishing the power that it has had over your life.
If you or someone you know are interested and ready to get started, contact me today. I would love to hear from you! Or, read on to learn more about anxiety and how therapy can help!
Do I need therapy for anxiety?
Anxiety is actually really useful!
For example, you might feel anxious about being fired for showing up late for work, so your anxiety motivates you to leave on time. Or, you might be worried about failing a test at school, so your anxiety motivates you to study extra hard. You can probably thank anxiety for many of your wins and accomplishments in life! So, anxiety is a motivational, emotional response to stress, and some anxiety can be quite helpful.
But unfortunately, many people struggle with unhealthy and unhelpful anxiety – the kind that keeps us from feeling calm, happy, and well. Here are a few common signs of unhealthy anxiety:
If you or a loved one have been struggling with unhealthy anxiety – don’t wait. Contact me today to get the help you deserve!
How can therapy for anxiety help?
Often, anxiety encourages us to avoid discomfort – including the experience of anxiety itself! Over time, this leads to a difficult pattern known as the cycle of avoidance:
Anytime we successfully avoid things that make us anxious, we tend to feel really good (“Whew, I avoided it”). The brain learns that we should do that again, and so it builds up those anxious feelings so that, in the future, we’ll know to avoid it again. This cycle leaves the fear unaddressed, which allows it room to grow and spread. Sometimes avoidance means using drugs, alcohol, food, or other distractions to take our mind off the problem, which is truly what makes unhealthy anxiety so damaging.
Anxiety gets us stuck in a cycle of worry, fear, and stress – which is why therapy for anxiety is all about breaking the cycle.
You get to learn new skills for managing anxious feelings. You have the chance to discover new ways to think about fear and discomfort. And, you will experience encouragement and support for confronting your anxiety. Additionally, therapy for anxiety can help you:
- Gain new insight and perspective
- Change unhelpful ways of thinking
- Feel at ease in social situations
- Accept life’s uncontrollable stressors
- Enhance interpersonal and social skills
- Discover new aspects of your personality
- Regain a sense of control and confidence
- Use personally-tailored coping strategies that actually work
What does therapy look like with Jennifer Wagner?
As a relationally-oriented therapist, my passion is in building connection. My job is to help you feel seen and heard, to offer support and compassion, and to utilize my experience and clinical expertise in ways that produce real change.
My work is grounded in the latest research in neurobiology and attachment, which means I like to identify and help to transform the underlying processes that make up your experience. I also draw on a variety of helpful tools from DBT, CBT and strategies that help to facilitate awareness of the mind/body connection. In other words, I am particularly skilled in helping you understand and unlock the “hidden” roots of your anxiety and how it shows up in your body.
All of our sessions are completely confidential and held in the comfort of my office here in Austin, Texas. I work with teens and adults from all over the area, and I would love to work with you!
No one should have to carry worry and anxiety alone – including you.
Contact me today to get started.
Interested? Let’s work together.
Thank you for your interest! If you would like to learn more about me and how I practice, check out my About Me page. If you have questions or would like to sign up for your first session, let’s connect!
Phone:
(512) 333-4170
Email:
jennifer@youraustintherapist.com
Address:
500 Grace Lane
Austin, Texas 78746