Online Therapy for Anxiety & Chronic Stress in Alberta

How does your anxiety show up for you?

Together, we look at the triggers, fears, thought loops, patterns, and behaviors that keep your anxiety in motion. We explore what your anxiety may be trying to do for you and whether some of these responses developed as ways of protecting you or helping you cope.  Your anxiety will function in a feedback loop that is unique to you and your circumstances.

• What happens in your body when anxiety rises
• What you are afraid might happen
• What you feel you need to control, avoid, or prevent
• The patterns you have developed to feel safe
• Experiences that may still be affecting you

Sometimes anxiety is giving you useful information. Other times, it may be responding to assumptions, old experiences, or past trauma that are no longer serving you.

We can work on understanding the difference, learning how to respond when anxiety is trying to protect you, and finding new ways to navigate your thoughts, emotions, and situations that continue to feel unsafe or uncertain.

Anxiety doesn't only happen in your thoughts.  Your body can respond too, with tension, restlessness, a racing heart, feeling overwhelmed, shutting down, or a sense that something is wrong even when you can't put your finger on it. 

We work together to support your nervous system and help it settle when it becomes activated. I teach you how to recognize what is happening and walk through these skills with you, including how to respond when panic takes over.

The focus is not on making anxiety disappear. It is about learning how to stay with yourself when anxiety rises and respond in ways that help you stay in control.

Think of it like being the captain of a ship in rough water. You see the waves. You feel the movement of the water. You know the conditions are difficult, but you do not have to panic or let every wave determine what you do next.

You learn how to stay steady at the wheel, understand what is happening, and choose how to navigate through it.

The waves may still be there, but you know how to steer the ship.

Understanding your anxiety is important, but insight alone doesn’t always change what happens when anxiety shows up.

Together, we develop practical ways to respond differently. This might include learning skills to manage physical symptoms, approaching situations you’ve been avoiding, setting boundaries, interrupting reassurance-seeking or overthinking, and building more effective ways of coping with uncertainty.

The goal isn’t to eliminate every anxious thought or feeling. It’s to help you feel more capable of responding to anxiety in ways that leave you feeling less powerless and more able to choose how you respond.

Over time, you can develop more choices in how you respond, rather than feeling like anxiety is making the decisions for you. This can help you regain a sense of agency and trust in your ability to navigate what comes up.

Over time, we can adjust these strategies based on what is actually working in your everyday life.