What are the signs I should get therapy for anxiety?

If worry, racing thoughts, restlessness, trouble sleeping, or physical tension are interfering with your daily life or relationships, therapy can help. You don't have to wait until it feels unbearable — earlier support often makes anxiety easier to manage. A free introductory call is a good first step.

What type of therapy is best for anxiety?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most well-researched and effective approaches for anxiety, and it's often where we start. CBT helps you understand the link between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and gives you practical tools to break the anxiety cycle. We tailor the approach to what works best for you.

Can therapy help anxiety without medication?

Yes. Many people significantly reduce their anxiety through therapy alone, especially with evidence-based approaches like CBT. If medication becomes something you want to explore, we can coordinate with a prescribing provider — but it's not a requirement to get real relief.

How long does it take for anxiety therapy to work?

CBT for anxiety is often relatively short-term, and many clients notice meaningful improvement within the first several weeks of consistent sessions. We'll build skills you can keep using long after therapy ends.

What's the difference between stress and anxiety?

Stress is usually a response to a specific pressure and eases once the situation passes. Anxiety tends to linger, often without a clear cause, and can persist even when things are objectively okay. If your worry feels constant or out of proportion, therapy can help.

Do you treat panic attacks and phobias too?

Yes. Alongside generalized anxiety, we help clients with panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety, and related concerns using CBT and other evidence-based tools designed to reduce symptoms and restore a sense of control.

OCD THERAPY

IN LOS ANGELES

The thoughts are not the problem. The trap around them is.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is widely misunderstood. It is not about being tidy or particular. It is an exhausting loop in which a distressing thought, image, or urge arrives uninvited, anxiety spikes, and you do something — check, wash, count, pray, confess, mentally review, seek reassurance — to make the feeling stop. It works for a moment. Then the loop tightens.

If you are caught in that cycle, you are not irrational and you are not dangerous. OCD is highly treatable, and at Playa Vista Counseling we help clients across Los Angeles get their time and their mental quiet back.

What OCD can look like

OCD involves obsessions (intrusive, unwanted thoughts that cause distress) and compulsions (behaviors or mental rituals performed to relieve that distress). Common presentations include:

• Contamination fears and washing, cleaning, or avoidance

• Checking locks, appliances, or your own memory of an action

• Harm obsessions — intrusive fears of hurting yourself or someone else

• Unwanted sexual, violent, or blasphemous intrusive thoughts

• Relationship OCD — persistent doubt about a partner or the relationship

• Symmetry, ordering, and “just right” feelings

• Health anxiety and repeated body checking or symptom searching

• Mental compulsions: reviewing, counting, praying, or arguing with the thought

• Reassurance seeking from partners, family, or the internet

An important note: people with harm-related or taboo obsessions are not at increased risk of acting on them. The distress you feel about the thought is precisely what shows it conflicts with who you are.

Our approach to OCD treatment

The most effective, best-researched treatment for OCD is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Rather than trying to argue with or neutralize the obsession, ERP helps you gradually face the trigger while resisting the compulsion — teaching your brain, through direct experience, that the anxiety subsides on its own and the feared outcome does not arrive.

We buildexposures collaboratively, starting where you can actually succeed and moving up at a pace you agree to. Nothing is sprung on you. We also work on the reassurance loops that family members often get pulled into with the best of intentions.

Getting your life back

Clients often tell us the goal was never to stop having intrusive thoughts — everyone has those. It was to stop losing hours a day to them. With consistent treatment, that is a realistic outcome.

We offer OCD therapy in Los Angeles and secure virtual sessions throughout California, including evening and weekend availability.

Let’s talk about how we can help you find joy, peace, and inner healing.

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION →

Frequently Asked Questions

The distinguishing feature is the cycle: an intrusive thought creates intense distress, and you feel compelled to do something — physically or mentally — to relieve it. General anxiety worries about realistic problems, while OCD attaches to specific fears and demands rituals. A free introductory call can help you sort out which pattern fits.
Exposure and Response Prevention is a specialized form of CBT and the most well-researched treatment for OCD. It involves gradually facing what triggers the obsession while resisting the compulsion, which teaches your brain that the anxiety fades on its own. It's structured, collaborative, and always paced with your agreement.
No. Taboo intrusive thoughts are a very common form of OCD, and the distress they cause is exactly what demonstrates they conflict with your values. People with these obsessions are not at increased risk of acting on them, and you won't be judged for describing them here.
Yes. ERP is effective on its own for many people. Some clients choose to combine therapy with medication, and we're glad to coordinate with a prescribing provider if you'd like to explore that.
No. Exposures are built together, starting at a level you can manage, and you always consent to each step. The work should feel challenging, not overwhelming — if it tips into too much, we adjust.
ERP is often relatively short-term compared to open-ended therapy, and many clients notice meaningful change within a few months of consistent work. The skills are yours to keep using long after treatment ends.