I have worked successfully with clients who suffer with anxiety disorders, including panic attacks, chronic worry, obsessions and compulsions, crippling self-consciousness or relentless insomnia and rumination.

The best plan of attack for treating anxiety disorders is targeting negative thinking, first and foremost, and understanding the patterns and biases that pit us against ourselves. Most often these thinking patterns are rooted in negative core beliefs, established early in life or in adolescence, which don’t serve us well and never did.

Cognitive restructuring is the therapeutic term for this process and is an evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders. Understanding the roots of the anxiety is also important for healing and helps us get back in touch with ourselves and our values in order to find meaning and purpose in our lives. This is a deeper and yet essential aspect of recovery.