Anxiety Therapist Los Angeles
Hi, I'm Dr. Nicole Moshfegh, a licensed clinical psychologist and anxiety therapist in Los Angeles. If you're struggling with anxiety, you're not alone. Many people feel overwhelmed, unable to turn off their minds, and find themselves staying up at night with anxious thoughts. These feelings can spiral into the next day, affecting your overall quality of life. I understand, and I’m here to help.
I work with individuals to address the root causes of their anxiety and equip them with effective tools to manage anxious feelings, helping them regain control over their lives. If you're ready to start feeling better, schedule a complimentary consultation with me today.
My Approach to Anxiety Therapy Los Angeles
In today’s world, it’s easy to feel anxious. With constant demands and a fast-paced lifestyle, anxiety can feel inescapable. Whether your anxiety stems from real-world fears or irrational worries, it impacts your body and overall well-being. As an experienced anxiety therapist in Los Angeles, my approach is built on decades of training, research, and hands-on experience in treating anxiety.
I primarily use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is proven to help people reduce anxiety by challenging unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors. By understanding how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected, you will learn to control your anxiety rather than letting it control you.
Because we cannot control our feelings but we can control our thoughts and our behaviors, CBT teaches you different ways of challenging and changing your thoughts and gradually changing certain behaviors, which will then tame your anxiety.
In addition to CBT, I also incorporate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT focuses on helping you accept your anxious thoughts and feelings, rather than trying to eliminate or fight them. This therapeutic approach teaches you how to live in alignment with your values, even in the presence of anxiety. It can be incredibly empowering to learn that you don't have to be free of anxiety to lead a fulfilling life.
For some, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may also be beneficial. These mindfulness approaches teach clients to accept their thoughts without judgment, helping them stay focused on the present rather than getting lost in worries about the past or future.
In MBCT and MBSR, rather than trying to challenge and change your thoughts, you learn strategies to accept and let go of your thoughts. This ultimately helps you to not get so caught up in the thousands of (often frankly gibberish) thoughts we all have every day. You also learn how to focus more on the present moment rather than thinking about the past or worrying about the future. This allows you to develop more kindness and compassion to yourself and others.
How CBT and Mindfulness Help Relieve Anxiety in Los Angeles
As an anxiety therapist in Los Angeles, I guide clients in using tangible coping strategies that reduce anxiety and promote emotional well-being. CBT helps you identify and challenge negative thought patterns, while mindfulness-based techniques allow you to let go of distressing thoughts, reducing their impact.
When dealing with chronic anxiety, your body may be in a constant “fight-or-flight” state. I teach techniques that calm your nervous system, helping you to break free from this heightened state. As a certified mindfulness-based therapy provider, I use stress reduction techniques to bring you relief.
When you are anxious, you are typically constantly in a state of what is called “fight-or-flight,” which is essentially our body’s way of keeping us safe by preparing us for danger. Unfortunately, because our body reacts in the same way to an immediate life threatening situation (like being attacked by a bear for example) as it does to an imagined situation (like worrying about potentially saying something that could be perceived as embarrassing to someone) your body is most likely often in a panic-like state, which can feel terrible.
The Connection Between Anxiety and Sleep
Many people with anxiety also struggle with insomnia. Research shows that anxiety and insomnia have a “bi-directional” relationship, meaning anxiety worsens sleep, and lack of sleep increases anxiety. As part of my therapy for anxiety in Los Angeles, I also specialize in insomnia treatment, offering clients holistic, evidence-based strategies for improving both sleep and anxiety.
Because I also have expertise in trauma and work stress, I can help clients who are experiencing anxiety from multiple sources. This comprehensive approach helps clients achieve faster, longer-lasting results.
Whether you have been experiencing anxiety your entire life or you recently started feeling anxious, I have the tools and expertise to help you find relief. I invite you to reach out to me today to see how I may be able to help.
Anxiety Therapist Los Angeles FAQs
What is an anxiety disorder?
Anxiety is classified as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease that usually occurs in anticipation of a future threat of some kind (real or perceived). Fear is classified as an emotional response to a real or perceived immediate threat. People experience anxiety and fear for a variety of reasons.
There are different types of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders differ from each other in the types of objects or situations that create fear or anxiety. When fear or anxiety is occuring most days and/or lasts for long periods of time (typically at least a few months), it is usually best to seek treatment.
Some of the most common types of anxiety disorders include:
Specific Phobia: occurs when someone is fearful or anxious about or avoidant of specific objects or situations (such as flying, heights, spiders, seeing blood)
Social Anxiety Disorder: occurs when someone is fearful or anxious about social situations, such as having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people, or performing in front of others
Panic Disorder: occurs when someone experiences recurrent panic attacks that seem to come on out of the blue, and cause the person to start worrying about having additional panic attacks or to change their behavior in some way to avoid having a panic attack
Agoraphobia: occurs when someone experiences fear or anxiety about using public transportation, being in open spaces, being in enclosed places, standing in line or being in a crowd, or being outside of the home alone
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: occurs when someone is very anxious and worried about a number of events or activities more often than not and they find it hard to control their worries
How are anxiety disorders treated?
Although there are different types of anxiety disorders, all have proven to be responsive to Cognitive Behavioral and Mindfulness-Based Therapies.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely-used therapy for anxiety disorders. CBT addresses negative patterns and distortions in the way we look at the world and ourselves. As the name suggests, this involves two main components:
Cognitive therapy examines how negative thoughts (cognitions) contribute to anxiety.
Behavior therapy examines how you behave and react in situations that trigger anxiety.
The basic premise of CBT is that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all related to one another. the way we feel. The goal is to change our thoughts or our behaviors so that our feelings can change in return, thereby reducing our anxiety.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a modified form of cognitive therapy that incorporates mindfulness practices, such as meditation, with cognitive therapy. Just like in CBT, MBCT teaches you how to break away from negative thought patterns. The difference in MBCT is that you learn how to change your relationship with your thoughts and emotions by watching them come and go, rather than getting wrapped up in them. Meditation can rebalance neural networks in your brain, which allows you to move away from automatic negative responses toward an understanding that there are other ways to respond to situations.
Get help from an Anxiety Therapist Los Angeles
Anxiety doesn’t have to control your life. With the right tools and support, you can regain control and begin living the life you want. As an experienced anxiety therapist in Los Angeles, I can guide you through the process of managing anxiety effectively.
Reach out today for a free consultation and take the first step toward feeling better.