Discover Calm: Expert Anxiety Therapy in College Park & Online Across Maryland
Discover calm within
Do you wish you could re-write your anxiety?
Everyone tells you to “Just relax”. Of course you would, if you could, but it’s like you get completely hijacked by anxiety and everything spins out of control again. You do your best to prepare for every outcome and scenario. You play things over and over in your head so there aren't any mistakes. But when the time comes, your stomach drops, your brain shuts off, it feels like you aren't entirely in your body anymore, and you are trying so hard to keep it together.
When you make a mistake you play it over and over in your head, and you can't focus on anything else. It's exhausting to keep spiraling out of control into negative thinking. You try to get a grip so that no one knows that you are coming undone inside. But you feel like you are consumed by the anxiety, day in and day out, as it chips away at your time and energy. It’s likely that nobody knows how uncomfortable and exhausted you are.
You need more than a vacation. You want a vacation from your own mind.
From “Fine” to flourishing
What might be possible without anxiety holding you back?
So many people with anxiety will look like they are, and will tell you they are, “doing fine”. Anxious folks are often the ones we count on to get things done because they do sweat the small stuff and pay attention to the details. They are like ducks, gliding along the pond, while their feet keep kicking wildly below the water, in order to keep moving forward. Anxious folks going through this constant monitoring, checking, ruminating, and exhaustive effort, make sure that the lunches get made, relationships are tended, and the bills get paid. It can look like everything is chugging along, without major things slipping through the cracks. But did I mention it’s EXHAUSTING?
Constantly looking ahead to make sure nothing is missed, looking around to make sure everyone is ok, looking behind to double (triple?) check for any mistakes made, leaves so little room for much of what makes life so rich: joy, ease, playfulness, contentment, curiosity, fun. What if there was a sense that your desires mattered, that there was enough space and sense of security to move from “fine” to “flourishing”? Whether you long for more peace and ease, more vitality and connection, or all of the above, reducing the anxiety that’s been taking up so much of your life leaves space for those good things to grow.
Supportive Therapist for Anxiety Treatment in Maryland
Beth Charbonneau, LCSW-C, Maryland anxiety therapist.
Hello there, worriers, overthinkers, and ruminators! My name is Beth and I am a Maryland therapist, specializing in helping people tame their anxiety. My clients often come to me exhausted and ready for a lifeline. They’ve been struggling hard to keep their head above water for a while and need to find a better way forward. They want and need real, practical solutions that they can start using today to begin to feel better.
Working together, we will discover how anxiety is showing up in your life and figure out effective solutions to manage it. I’ll help you understand exactly why all those good ideas, important points or test answers disappeared out of your head when you got anxious. We can figure out how you can break free of the thought spirals of constant “What if”s that have kept you distressed and stuck. We’ll strategize about how to manage your anxiety so you don’t keep trying to manage others and their behaviors as a workaround.
Working With Me
Weekly sessions are typically the most effective and efficient way to help you get a handle on your anxiety and bring more calm to the body and clarity to the mind. But we’re not just going to talk endlessly about it (though we definitely will talk about it). We’re going to DO things about it too. Chances are, you’re already talking about anxious things in your head all the time. If we want you to have a different experience with your anxiety, we need to try doing different things. Therapy is a great laboratory for experimenting with different ways of understanding, interacting with, and relating to your anxiety. Here are some possible things we might try:
Breathing exercises to get your brain and body out of emergency panic mode
Body awareness and somatic practices to figure out exactly how anxiety shows up in your body and how we can modify that
Clinical hypnosis to access your inner resources for finding calm and confidence
Facilitating conversations between parts of yourself that want to be free of anxiety and the parts that sabotage you
Mindfulness practices that help you to step out of the chaos of mind chatter
Reclaiming control over panic attacks by being able to consciously start and stop them on your own
Thought diffusion practices to give you some distance from the sticky thoughts that keep you emotionally hooked
It’s also fine if you look at that list and tell me it’s all bogus and you’re not doing any of that. Skeptics are more than welcome! I have experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well, if you want to go that way. But, with more than 20 years of experience, I know that all of these kooky-sounding things can work. We’ll work together to find a plan that fits your unique situation. We can tap into the thoughts that drive your anxiety and teach you ways to calm your body so your anxiety doesn't gain control of you.
REal results with anxiety therapy
How much of your life is impacted by anxiety? What might be different if you could manage that anxiety better? Here’s a sample of some real results I’ve seen in folks who have worked with me on their anxiety:
Taking their first flight without the use of anti-anxiety medication or alcohol
Going from panic attacks several times per week to less than once per month
Noticing when thought patterns turn anxious and actively choosing a different path
Reduction in IBS symptoms, even in times of stress
Reduced frequency and intensity of nervous habit behaviors (nail biting, skin picking, etc)
But my favorite result is when someone tells me that they feel like they are on their own side in life again because they now are able to better understand how they are feeling and what they need.
There’s probably a pretty good reason that you’ve been dealing with anxiety. Together, we can figure out how to address all the things that your anxiety has been trying to do in your life, but with more calm and ease. Therapy sessions are available in my College Park, MD office or online, anywhere in Maryland. Want to know more about how I work? You can check out my About page or read through some of my blog posts.
free 15-minute consultation for Anxiety therapy in College Park or online around Maryland
Ready to reclaim peace and balance in your life, and make space for what really matters to you? You don’t have to keep struggling on alone. If you are ready to reach out and take that first step towards overcoming your anxiety with a Maryland therapist, please contact me, and we can set up a free 15-minute consultation call. Let’s see if we make a good team to tackle this issue together. You can also read more about anxiety, and some tools for starting to help tame it, in my blog. Those posts can provide some practical tools for managing anxiety and also give you an idea of how I work with anxiety treatment in my College Park-based therapy practice.
Other services I offer online and in College Park, MD include hypnotherapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and coaching.
In-Person & Online Anxiety Therapy in College Park & across Maryland
My therapy office is conveniently located in downtown College Park, with free parking. The office is accessible by Metro, and within walking distance of the University of Maryland College Park campus & the University Park neighborhood. It’s a short drive from Greenbelt, Hyattsville and Takoma Park. There is free parking on-site. Can’t make it into the office? No worries – I offer online therapy in Maryland on a secure video platform.
FAQs About Anxiety Therapy
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That depends on the person! But, in general, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been proven very effective for anxiety reduction. We can use it to understand how our thoughts can drive our feelings and behaviors, and how to intervene when those thought patterns are unhelpful. We can’t always logic our way out of panic, so I like to pair CBT with body-based skills to help the nervous system relax. There are many, easy-to-learn skills and techniques to help with this relaxation response. This provides better coverage for managing anxiety in the mind and the body. I also find that hypnotherapy for anxiety can support a CBT approach. Learn more about CBT for anxiety therapy, online or in-person. In my College Park, MD practice, I often combine CBT with somatic and mindfulness-based approaches, and I offer both in-person and online anxiety therapy to clients across Maryland.
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Along with frequent worrying and/or irritability, folks with anxiety disorders can also have a hard time concentrating or settling down due to restlessness or hypervigilance. Physical symptoms can include sweating, nausea, muscle tension, frequent headaches, trembling and palpitations. Anxiety is a normal response to some stressors in life, like a big presentation or interview, but an anxiety disorder may be indicated if these issues are out of proportion to the events at hand, or are causing disturbances in your everyday functioning. For more information, see a trusted resource like the Mayo Clinic. If you're experiencing these symptoms and are looking for an anxiety therapist in Maryland, I offer a free 15-minute consultation.
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Anyone is welcome to seek therapy if they would like help in figuring out how to manage emotions and behaviors that are causing distress and difficulty. You don’t have to see something falling apart in your life to be deemed “worthy” of therapy. Therapy is for everyone that would like skilled help in creating a life with less distress and more ease. As a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW-C) in Maryland, I welcome anyone who wants skilled support — you don't need to be in crisis to reach out for anxiety therapy in College Park or online.
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Anxiety is often treated with a combination of therapy, lifestyle changes and, sometimes, medication. Medication can be prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist. A therapist can help you learn skills to manage your anxiety better and make lifestyle changes to support your wellbeing. In my Maryland practice, I use a combination of CBT, somatic techniques, mindfulness, and clinical hypnosis, tailored to each person's needs.
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A lot of folks are hesitant to really give up their anxiety. They believe that it helps keep them safe, alert and performing well. That makes a lot of sense, based on how our brains work. We don’t want to give up something that we believe is working for us, even when we know it has drawbacks. I won’t lie—it can be hard work to confront your anxiety sometimes. But you are in the driver’s seat and we can work together to find a pace that moves you towards your goals but doesn’t overwhelm you. And we’ll build skills for self-soothing along the way, giving you plenty of new tools so it becomes less about giving up anxiety as opposed to having actual options to choose from besides just anxiety. We have lots of tools to choose from to support you, including hypnotherapy, if that interests you.
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Yes! Research shows that online, or virtual, therapy can be as effective as in-person treatment for anxiety and other issues. Some people have preferences about whether they prefer the private, separate space of in-person sessions or the convenience of online therapy. I offer sessions both in my College Park, MD office and online therapy for clients in Maryland. This makes treatment available whether you are in Baltimore City, Montgomery County, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, or here in Prince George’s County with me.
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I am out-of-network with all insurance plans. Many plans offer out-of-network benefits that will reimburse clients a portion of the cost of sessions. Check with your individual policy to see if you are eligible for out-of-network benefits. Many clients in Maryland find that their PPO plans offer out-of-network reimbursement for anxiety therapy. It's worth a quick call to your insurer.
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In my anxiety therapy practice in College Park, MD, I work with clients experiencing a range of anxiety disorders, including:
Agoraphobia is when you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.
Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition includes symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.
Generalized anxiety disorder includes persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about activities or events — even ordinary, routine issues. The worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, is difficult to control and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs along with other anxiety disorders or depression.
Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding situations in which they've occurred.
Separation anxiety disorder is a childhood disorder characterized by anxiety that's excessive for the child's developmental level and related to separation from parents or others who have parental roles.
Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels of anxiety, fear and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness and concern about being judged or viewed negatively by others.
Specific phobias are characterized by high anxiety when you're exposed to a specific object or situation and then want to avoid it. Phobias can lead to panic attacks in some people.
Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing drugs, taking medications, being exposed to a toxic substance or withdrawal from drugs.
Certain types of anxiety or phobias don't fit neatly into a category. But they can still cause major distress and disrupt daily life. If you're unsure which type of anxiety you're experiencing, I can help clarify this during our work together.
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It can sometimes be tricky to tease apart what’s going on if there are issues coming up around attention, focus, anxiety, plus other mood or health symptoms.
A thorough physical assessment by a doctor can help rule out any medical issues that may be contributing to the picture. After that, a comprehensive mental health intake can provide some additional clarity. As an anxiety therapist in Maryland, I conduct a thorough mental health intake to help distinguish anxiety from other concerns like ADHD or depression, and can refer you to appropriate specialists for further evaluation when needed.
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If you are reading this, it means that you have already done yourself a favor by looking at the issue of anxiety directly. Being able to name the challenge of anxiety, learn more about it, and understand some of the many resources and options for treatment can help you to feel more hopeful and ready to take action.
There are many posts in the blog about anxiety you can check out as well. Remember that anxiety is pretty common and is well treated with proper support.
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Anxiety disorders are very common! They are the most common form of mental illness in the United States, affecting 19% of the adult population (that’s around 40 million people), according to the ADAA. More than a third of teenagers also have anxiety. If you struggle with anxiety, you are in good company! Unfortunately, less than 40% of people with anxiety receive treatment. If you're among the many people in Maryland struggling with anxiety, know that effective treatment is available — in College Park and online.