Therapy with Alex G
Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety counseling for children, teens, and adults in Santa Barbara, CA.
Get Out Of Your Head And Back Into Your Life
Anxiety often presents as a feeling of worry or nervousness that can impact you across various parts of your life, in certain circumstances, and in the form of specific fears. When you experience anxiety, you may inaccurately perceive the immediacy or dangerousness of particular situations and avoid important experiences or necessary events. You may also find it difficult to stay present and feel like yourself. Therapy with me can help you get down to the root cause of your anxiety. Together, we will uncover the patterns of your anxiety and how avoidance, your thoughts, and your body sensations are keeping you from living the life you want.Let me help!
Generalized Anxiety
Generalized anxiety, or excessive worry about everyday issues or situations, can make you feel intensely distressed and uncomfortable, negatively impacting your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, routines, and relationships. When you think about what might be impacting you and leading to your anxiety, you may either feel overwhelmed by the immensity of your fears or at a loss for why you are worrying at all. This can make it hard to problem-solve and find a solution for what you are experiencing on your own. Together, we will explore how anxiety is keeping you stuck, and I will help you notice and implement tangible skills and tools so that you can move forward. With practice, perseverance, and support, our work together will equip you to lessen your fear and stop anxiety from running your life.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is characterized by intense fear, nervousness, and self-consciousness in social situations. When you experience social anxiety, you often worry about being judged or embarrassed by others, leading you to avoid social interactions or feel extremely anxious about them. You might also be overly concerned about making mistakes, not knowing what to say, or being judged as “weird” or “stupid.” I can help by providing you with a safe space where you will feel supported and understood. As we work together, we will explore how negative thinking and behaviors sustain your distress. In addition, I will help you improve your social skills and develop unique coping strategies so that you can interact more effectively and confidently and improve your social engagement.
Self Esteem
Low self-esteem can be a debilitating experience, causing negative thoughts, insecurity, and self-doubt. It can impact how you feel, behave, and even your relationships with others. When you have low self-esteem, it can feel like no matter what you do; it’s never good enough. You may even start to believe that there’s something wrong with you and that you don’t deserve the same things as other people. However, therapy can help you increase your self-esteem by highlighting and breaking down the negative thoughts and feelings that are preventing you from feeling good about yourself. Together, we will work to increase your self-compassion and self-acceptance so that you can learn to be kind and understanding toward yourself, even when you make mistakes or experience setbacks.
Perfectionism
While striving for excellence is often a positive quality, perfectionism can negatively impact your mental health and lead to lower levels of self-esteem and happiness. In particular, when you experience perfectionism, you may start to think about things as either all-or-nothing and become highly critical of yourself when you fall short of your own expectations. You may also feel that you have to be hard on yourself to do things the “right” way. As your therapist, I will help you focus in on how your perfectionism impacts you and assist you in recognizing and challenging your unrealistic expectations. Together we will replace your perfectionistic thinking with more realistic and positive thoughts so that you can develop a more accepting and compassionate attitude toward yourself.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a complex and often misunderstood condition that can affect every aspect of your life. OCD is not a reflection of your personality or willpower, but rather a product of neurological and psychological factors. If you are struggling with OCD, you will likely be feeling stuck in a constant cycle of fear, doubt, and ritualization, while also experiencing both distressing thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) performed to alleviate the anxiety these thoughts cause. OCD can feel like an unrelenting storm; however, I am here to offer you the calm and support you need to navigate through it. Through the use of personalized strategies and a warm, non-judgemental environment we will work together to uncover the root of your OCD, develop coping mechanisms, and build resilience.
Phobias
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder characterized by an intense fear of particular objects, situations, or activities. Common phobias that you might struggle with are fear of heights, fear of needles/blood, fear of flying, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of public speaking, or fear of throwing up (emetophobia). The main thing distinguishing a phobia from a fear reaction is that your fear is excessive, and your distress seems uncontrollable. Therapy with me will help you face your phobias head-on by identifying and changing your fears and beliefs related to the phobia. I will also use exposure therapy techniques to help you manage your physical symptoms and avodance. This will be done in a controlled and gradual way to help you become desensitized to your phobia so that you can face your fear with less distress.
