Anxiety Therapy

Our anxiety therapists in Cincinnati and Indianapolis are ready to help.

We Can Help You With Anxiety

Fear and anxiety are a normal part of life. However, if you experience persistent and excessive anxiety that negatively impacts your life, you should get evaluated for an anxiety disorder. Fear, which is an emotional response to a perceived threat, sends danger signals to the brain leading to a surge of cognitive and physical symptoms that prep your body for fight or flight behavior. Anxiety is anticipation of future threats leading to cautious, avoidant, or hypervigilant behavior. Many anxiety disorders develop in childhood and persist into adulthood. This guide explains anxiety disorders and the treatments that can help you thrive.

Anxiety Disorders

Selective Mutism

Failure to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected even though individual can speak in other situations

Specific Phobia

Intense fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation
Avoidance of (or enduring with intense fear or anxiety) a specific object or situation

Social Anxiety

Marked fear or anxiety about social situations that involve possible scrutiny
Fear about negative evaluation due to anxiety symptoms
Avoidance of social situations (or enduring with intense anxiety)

Panic Disorder

Recurrent unexpected panic attacks with physical symptoms that peak within minutes
Persistent worry about having more panic attacks
Avoidance of situations that might trigger panic attacks

Agoraphobia

Marked fear or anxiety about situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable
Avoidance of situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable

Generalized Anxiety

Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation) about various events or activities
Difficulty controlling worry
Worry that leads to physical symptoms

Effective Treatments for Anxiety

Exposure Therapy

Get support to gradually enter feared situations (in reality or in your imagination)
Learn that you can tolerate the fear, that it will decrease on its own without avoiding, or that feared outcomes do not occur or aren’t as terrible as feared

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Identify and challenge catastrophic thinking that triggers fear and anxiety
Change your behaviors to decrease avoidance
Face feared situations to learn new ways of coping

Panic Control Therapy

Identify and challenge catastrophic thinking that triggers panic (especially thoughts related to bodily sensations)
Exposure to feared situations and bodily sensations to learn new ways of coping

Applied Relaxation

Learn progressive muscle relaxation that can be used during stressful situations
Most often used in conjunction with other therapies

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Learn to let go of the struggle against unwanted thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations to embrace acceptance
Learn to focus on the present moment and act on what you value most

Take the Next Step with Support for Anxiety

We want to help you create an individualized roadmap (a ThriveMap!) to get CLEAR DIRECTION on how you can achieve your goals and overcome your challenges.

1 Understand the Problem

2 Choose Treatment Targets

3 Create an
Action Plan

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety Therapy

What is it like to work with our anxiety therapists in the Indianapolis and Cincinnati areas?

We believe the connection with your therapist and having clear guidance about the treatment and therapeutic process are critical for a great therapy experience, that’s why we promise our clients Remarkable Connection and Clear Direction. Your unique needs and expectations matter to us as we work together to help you accomplish your goals. Here’s a snapshot of the ThrivePointe experience.

1. Build a Strong Therapeutic Relationship

Team up with a therapist who strives to deeply understand your experience and expertly guide you through the process of making changes.

2. Understand the Problem

Develop a clear picture of your problem, including your personal history, symptoms, triggers, and the ways your life is impacted.

3. Create an Action Plan

Using evidence-based approaches, design an individualized plan to achieve your goals.

4. Implement New Skills & Solutions

Get the right balance of support and challenge to make life and relationship changes.

5. Track Your Progress To Do What Works

Make sure therapy is helping by monitoring improvements and refining your action plan.

6. Achieve Your Goals

Experience the Satisfaction of working hard to see positive changes and growth in your life!

Here's how Sarah Line at our Blue Ash, OH office helps clients with anxiety.

When you experience anxiety and worry, it’s natural to feel uncomfortable and want to get rid of those feelings as quickly as possible! When unpleasant anxiety sensations pop up you might think things like, “Oh no! I shouldn’t feel this way! I have to make this stop! I can’t stand it!” Then worry kicks in to protect you from feeling this way again and a lot of energy goes into putting those thoughts, feelings, and sensations out of mind and find ways to distract or get reassurance. Unfortunately, that often creates a pattern of avoidance and distraction that leads to more anxiety and worry over time. Sarah helps clients learn to distinguish between worry that is helpful and worry that causes distress; noticing the difference between a signal to problem solve, prepare, or take action, versus a “worry without an action plan” cycle or fixation with gaining certainty and getting things just right. Sarah helps you make connections about what experiences, beliefs (like, “I can’t handle this!”), and patterns have contributed to persistent anxiety. You can gain insight about what’s happening, learn about the cycle of anxiety, and explore new ways of moving through these feelings so you feel more peace and resilience over time.

What does anxiety counseling look like?

Acceptance Based Behavioral Therapy (Roemer & Orsillo, 2020) helps clients break free from anxiety cycles and move toward a mindful, compassionate, and accepting experience that reduces distress.

Learn about fear and anxiety and track your own worry cycle.
Learn about the function of emotions.
Practice formal and informal mindfulness, defusion (or getting unhooked from unhelpful thoughts), and self-compassion to cultivate a compassionate and balanced stance toward your internal experiences.
Learn how to “score a point against anxiety” by increasing acceptance of the things outside your control.
Create a fear and avoidance hierarchy.
Practice acceptance with exposure; select the situations or thoughts you are most motivated to work on from your hierarchy.
Identify the ways anxiety has interfered with your life, goals, and dreams.
Pinpoint your values and the values-driven actions that are meaningful to you.
Make plans each week to engage in values-driven actions and notice the benefits of the healthy actions you were able to engage in!

Want to Learn More About Anxiety Therapy
in Ohio or Indiana?

We want to make finding anxiety counseling in Cincinnati and Indianapolis easy.
To get started with an anxiety therapist, just follow these three steps:

More ThrivePointe Counseling Services Near Cincinnati and Indianapolis

As a practice, we value treating the whole family’s needs. So, at our various ThrivePointe locations in Indianapolis, Greenwood, Blue Ash and Liberty Township, we can serve you. We provide adult counseling, couples counseling, child counseling and play therapy, teen counseling, family counseling and Christian counseling. Our team cares about you and wants to be a part of your thriving life. Learn more and call us today!