Anxiety Therapy That Takes Your Experience Seriously

If your mind is always working overtime — scanning for what might go wrong, replaying conversations, waking you up at 3am — you already know how exhausting it is. This isn't a character flaw. It's something we can actually work on together.

Book Your Free Call

Does Any of This Sound Like You?

Anxiety shows up differently for everyone. These are some of the experiences people often bring to therapy — real, specific, and worth taking seriously.

  • Racing thoughts that won't quiet down, even when you're exhausted and desperately want to rest
  • The what-ifs — the relentless loop of worst-case scenarios that feels impossible to shut off
  • The knot in your chest before social situations, conversations, or anything that might go wrong
  • Hypervigilance — the constant scanning, bracing, and waiting for something bad to happen
  • Avoidance cycles that provide relief in the moment but slowly shrink your world over time
  • Difficulty sleeping because your brain treats bedtime as prime time for anxiety
  • The feeling that something terrible is about to happen, even when nothing is visibly wrong

How I Work With Anxiety

My approach to anxiety therapy draws on two evidence-based frameworks: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for identifying and restructuring the thought patterns that feed anxiety, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for building emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills that work in real time. I use these deliberately — not as a checklist, but adapted to what's actually happening for you.

CBT helps us look at the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When anxiety tells you something catastrophic is about to happen, we examine that belief — where it comes from, whether it holds up, and how to interrupt the spiral before it takes over. This isn't about forcing positive thinking. It's about developing a more accurate, less automatic relationship with your own mind.

DBT adds practical skills for moments when the anxiety is already high: how to tolerate distress without making it worse, how to regulate your nervous system, how to stay present instead of spiraling forward into all the what-ifs. These are tools you can actually use, not concepts to think about later.

I also pay attention to what the anxiety is protecting. Sometimes it's a long-term pattern, sometimes it's tied to specific life circumstances, and sometimes both. Understanding the full picture shapes how we work together — so we're addressing the roots, not just managing the branches.

What to Expect in Therapy

Your First Session

Our first session is about understanding you — not diagnosing or categorizing, but learning what anxiety actually looks like in your life. I'll ask about what brings you in, what you've already tried, and what feels most pressing. We won't rush through a script. By the end of our first session, we'll have a clearer sense of where to focus and what working together could look like.

Ongoing Work

Sessions vary depending on what you need. Some weeks we'll work on concrete CBT or DBT skills — tools to use in the moment when anxiety spikes. Other weeks we'll slow down and look at deeper patterns, past experiences, or the underlying beliefs that keep anxiety running in the background. The pace is yours. We'll move as quickly or as carefully as the work requires.

I'm Vanessa Nash, LCSW, with 13+ years of experience working with neurodivergent adults and LGBTQIA+ individuals across New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. My approach is grounded in CBT, DBT, and behavioral therapy — adapted to how your brain actually works. Learn more about my background

Ready to Get Started?

Your free 10-minute consultation is the first step. No commitment, no pressure.

Book Your Free Call