Therapy for Phobias & Irrational Fears

Reston, VA and Virtual Sessions

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pho•bi•a

:an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

Situational phobias & fears

  • flying

  • driving

  • train rides

  • boat rides

  • grocery store/shopping

  • crowded places

  • being alone

  • doctor appointments

Sensation phobias & fears

  • throwing up/getting sick

  • dizziness

  • headaches

  • choking sensation

  • stomach ache

  • racing/pounding/fluttering heart

  • pins and needles/tingling

  • feeling slightly different or off

  • hot flashes

Mental phobias & fears

  • going crazy

  • losing control

  • racing thoughts

  • intense scary thoughts

  • existential thoughts

  • derealization/depersonalization

  • dread and doom

  • what if thoughts

I’m Kate!

and as a licensed therapist and former panic attack and agoraphobia sufferer, I’m here to help.

More About Me

The situation, thought, or feeling isn’t dangerous, so why do we treat it like it is?

Once we start to treat them as safe, the real recovery begins. No more coping skills to just manage or get by.

Drop your resistance and learn to stop fighting it off once and for all.

Real recovery from these fears and phobias happens when we stop treating them like the bad guy.

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Layers of Anxiety

The feeling, thought, or sensation

↓

I’m getting ready to fly and I have so much dread. My legs are shaking, I’m nauseous, and its hard to breath.

The scary story we tell ourselves

↓

This means I might be sick on the plane and I can’t let that happen. Or what if I pass out or have a panic attack and go crazy? What if I don’t feel better even after we land and I’m stuck like this the whole trip?

What we try to do to control it

↓

Worry about worse case scenario to try and prepare for the worst, grip the armrest, bring extra materials to distract myself, read reddit threads to see if anyone else feels this way and knows how to stop it. Or maybe just cancel the flight.

Layers of Anxiety After Recovery

The feeling, thought, or sensation

↓

I’m getting ready to fly and I feel dread. My legs are shaking, I’m nauseous, and it feels hard to breath.

The boring story we tell ourselves

↓

This means nothing and is just annoying. It will pass like it always does, and if it doesn’t, I know I can handle getting sick or having a panic attack on the plane. I’m a pro at it now!

What we try to do to control it

↓

Nothing. I know I can’t control it and trying to just makes it worse. I’m going to let the energy flow through my body as it pleases while I watch my movie or read my book. I won’t grip the armrest, distract myself, or google for reassurance.

Stop Resisting the Fear

Dropping the resistance to feeling anxious and panicky is how we recover from feeling anxious and panicky - because it doesn’t bother us anymore.

Therapy with Kate

During sessions, we’ll pinpoint the fear or phobia thats keeping you stuck. Through evidence based therapy modalities such as ACT, CBT & EMDR, I’ll help you learn and practice to allow and accept the adrenaline surges that happen when exposed to the fear or phobia.

Accepting and allowing anxiety is like an exposure. You’re allowing yourself to feel the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that you’ve been fighting off for so long. We take theses exposures slow and at your pace, while remembering that true recovery lies in practicing feeling anxious and changing the scary story to a boring one.

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Before dropping resistance

  • fear you’re going crazy or losing your mind

  • cancel trips

  • only go out with your safe person

  • spend so much time trying new supplements or cutting out foods

  • struggle each day to feel “normal”

  • feel like a failure

  • never know if you’ll wake up feeling okay or anxious that day

  • trips to the ER only to get a clean bill of health results

After dropping resistance

  • less reassurance seeking

  • travel with less fear

  • have time and energy for things that are actually important to you

  • stop checking your heart rate

  • be able to do things without your safe person

  • stop a “what if” thought before it spirals

  • go knew places without needing to know an escape route

  • have more confidence in your ability to handle hard emotions

FAQs

Learn more 
Why aren't my coping skills working?

Coping skills like deep breathing, grounding, cold water or mantras, are well meaning skills that help at times but they don’t get rid of panic for good. In therapy, we learn how to stop fearing our anxiety and panic so we no longer need to those skills. If you’re trying any skills or tricks to get rid of how you’re feeling, then your showing your body that feeling panic is dangerous and needs to be fixed, further keeping you stuck in the panic cycle. 

How do I be less afraid of my anxiety?

Being less afraid of your anxiety starts with treating it that way. Regardless of how scared you feel inside, we know it’s a fake threat. Treat the anxiety like it’s boring, or how you would treat something that’s annoying but safe-shrug it off, relax your muscles as much as you can, you go do whatever you were doing before- WHILE FEELING ANXIOUS AND SCARED.

Can I go crazy from a panic attack?

A panic attack itself can’t make you go crazy nor kill you. It’s strong and uncomfortable energy, and letting it run through your system instead of interfering to try and get rid of it will actually help your body to re-regulate faster.

How to get started:

  1. Click here to schedule your free consultation, or send me an email at rrcounseling.info@gmail.com

  2. Schedule your intake

  3. Drop your resistance to anxiety and start living again!