Online Therapy for Social Anxiety, Panic & OCD

serving clients in California & Japan

Welcome to my online counseling & therapy practice.

I specialize in helping people who are concerned with anxiety:

Social Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Other Anxiety Concerns

Anxiety is exhausting. One part of us knows that we might be overthinking or overreacting in response to certain situations, people, or thoughts. Another part of us is concerned with letting our guard down for the possibility of being hurt, embarrassed, failing, or losing control.

Anxiety makes it challenging to distinguish real threats from non-threats. It makes us question our judgment, and we can lose trust in ourselves and our ability to cope with internal and external challenges.

Anxiety also urges us to avoid situations, people, and thoughts and tries to prevent us from speaking up or taking necessary risks. No matter how much we value something or someone, anxiety always seems to get in the way, demanding that we prioritize it above everything else.

Anxiety also brings with it: self-criticism, sadness, confusion, exhaustion, and shame. 


How Counseling & Therapy May Help You:

I am trained in and offer Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT is often the best place to start for someone experiencing anxiety.

CBT is evidence-based, practical, educational, goal-oriented, and collaborative.

First, CBT teaches us how the brain works, why our brain sends us anxiety signals, and how anxiety is maintained long-term. CBT works off the premise that our thoughts, feelings, and urges/behaviors influence one another. By increasing our awareness of these three pieces and connecting it to what science has taught us about anxiety, we can paint a clear picture of how we inadvertently maintain anxiety.

Once we understand how anxiety is maintained, CBT assists us in developing a plan out of the anxiety cycle. During our time in session, by engaging in talk therapy, we increase our awareness of our already effective strategies that anxiety has covered up. We also uncover unhelpful thought patterns and mental habits and begin to experiment with new ways to respond and relate to these thoughts. Outside of sessions, CBT gives us strategies to experiment with, to decrease anxiety long-term.

CBT assists with developing new, more helpful pathways in our brains. CBT also accelerates and helps in overcoming barriers encountered when attempting self-help methods. Having a trained CBT therapist by your side can provide valuable insights and support that self-help strategies cannot offer.

I aim to tailor sessions specifically for you. Anxiety has similarities for all of us, but our minds, our life experiences, and our styles are, of course, very unique. I aim to understand the particulars of your situation and experiences and collaboratively develop a plan that works for you.

Finding a therapist you feel is a good fit can be the most crucial step to overcoming anxiety. To help with this, I offer a free 15-30 minute video consultation.

Image

Brian O'Sullivan
California Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT122484)

About Brian

Online Therapy for Social Anxiety, Panic & OCD

serving clients in California & Japan

Welcome to my online counseling & therapy practice.

I specialize in helping people who are concerned with anxiety:

Social Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Other Anxiety Concerns

Anxiety is exhausting. One part of us knows that we might be overthinking or overreacting in response to certain situations, people, or thoughts. Another part of us is concerned with letting our guard down for the possibility of being hurt, embarrassed, failing, or losing control.

Anxiety makes it challenging to distinguish real threats from non-threats. It makes us question our judgment, and we can lose trust in ourselves and our ability to cope with internal and external challenges.

Anxiety also urges us to avoid situations, people, and thoughts and tries to prevent us from speaking up or taking necessary risks. No matter how much we value something or someone, anxiety always seems to get in the way, demanding that we prioritize it above everything else.

Anxiety also brings with it: self-criticism, sadness, confusion, exhaustion, and shame. 


How Counseling & Therapy May Help You:

I am trained in and offer Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT is often the best place to start for someone experiencing anxiety.

CBT is evidence-based, practical, educational, goal-oriented, and collaborative.

First, CBT teaches us how the brain works, why our brain sends us anxiety signals, and how anxiety is maintained long-term. CBT works off the premise that our thoughts, feelings, and urges/behaviors influence one another. By increasing our awareness of these three pieces and connecting it to what science has taught us about anxiety, we can paint a clear picture of how we inadvertently maintain anxiety.

Once we understand how anxiety is maintained, CBT assists us in developing a plan out of the anxiety cycle. During our time in session, by engaging in talk therapy, we increase our awareness of our already effective strategies that anxiety has covered up. We also uncover unhelpful thought patterns and mental habits and begin to experiment with new ways to respond and relate to these thoughts. Outside of sessions, CBT gives us strategies to experiment with, to decrease anxiety long-term.

CBT assists with developing new, more helpful pathways in our brains. CBT also accelerates and helps in overcoming barriers encountered when attempting self-help methods. Having a trained CBT therapist by your side can provide valuable insights and support that self-help strategies cannot offer.

I aim to tailor sessions specifically for you. Anxiety has similarities for all of us, but our minds, our life experiences, and our styles are, of course, very unique. I aim to understand the particulars of your situation and experiences and collaboratively develop a plan that works for you.

Finding a therapist you feel is a good fit can be the most crucial step to overcoming anxiety. To help with this, I offer a free 15-30 minute video consultation.

Image

Brian O'Sullivan
California Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT122484)

About Brian