Anxiety Counselling & Treatment

Living with high levels of anxiety can be overwhelming and affect various aspects of your life. Our dedicated team of experienced professionals is here to provide you with compassionate support and effective strategies to manage your anxiety symptoms.

Whether you’re dealing with the symptoms of generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, OCD, or PTSD, our evidence-based approaches will help you regain control and improve your overall well-being. We offer personalised counselling sessions, tailored treatment plans, and practical tools to help you challenge negative thoughts, cope with triggers, and build resilience.

Take the first step towards a calmer and more fulfilling life by contacting us today.

What can triggeran overly high level of anxiety

Depending on the individual, anxiety may generally be attributed to one of the following triggers:

  • STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS

    Stressful life events, such as divorce or large work-load, can cause anxiety due to the disruption they bring to one’s sense of stability and predictability. They can overwhelm coping mechanisms, trigger fear of the unknown, and create a heightened sense of vulnerability, leading to increased anxiety levels. Learn more about the neurobiology behind stress here.

  • TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES

    Traumatic experiences can leave a significant and long-lasting emotional impact. The intense fear, helplessness, and horror associated with trauma can result in a heightened sense of vulnerability, intrusive memories, hypervigilance, and a persistent sense of threat, leading to anxiety disorders like Post-Traumatic-Stress (PTSD).

  • CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS & GENETIC TRAITS

    Chronic health conditions can cause anxiety due to the physical and emotional burden they impose, as well as the uncertainty and impact on daily functioning. Genetic factors contribute to anxiety by influencing the brain’s chemistry and the body’s stress response system, making individuals more susceptible to developing anxiety-related disorders.

Common signs & symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety manifests differently for everyone, but is generally a combination of the following responses:

  • A COGNITIVE RESPONSE

    A cognitive response refers to the thoughts and mental processes triggered by anxiety, including excessive worry, negative self-talk, low self-esteem, and distorted perceptions of threat. It often leads to interpreting situations negatively, catastrophising and having unhelpful thoughts such as “this is really bad” or “I can’t cope with this”.

  • A BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE

    A behavioural response refers to the actions and observable behaviours exhibited due to anxiety, such as avoidance, restlessness, aggression, seeking reassurance, or engaging in repetitive behaviours as a means of coping.

  • AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

    An emotional response refers to the intense and distressing emotions experienced due to anxiety, including fear, worry, unease, restlessness, irritability, and a heightened sense of vigilance or hypervigilance.

Types of anxiety disorders

Depending on the symptoms, anxiety disorders may be classified into a variety of categories or types, including:

  • GENERALISED ANXIETY

    Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterised by excessive and persistent worrying about various aspects of life, including everyday situations such as health or finances, without any specific trigger. These fears and worries are very real and often keep individuals from concentrating on daily tasks.

  • PANIC DISORDER

    Panic Disorder is a form of anxiety characterised by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are intense episodes of fear or discomfort, accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain, and a fear of losing control or having a heart attack. People who suffer from this disorder generally develop strong fears about when and where their next panic attack will occur.

  • PHOBIAS

    Phobias are a form of anxiety disorder characterised by an intense and irrational fear of objects, situations, or activities. Specific phobias may involve encountering certain things (EG. snakes, spiders, holes), while social phobias involve fear of social settings or public places. It can lead to avoidance behaviours and cause distress and impairment in functioning in daily life.

  • OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterised by recurring, uncontrollable, and unwanted intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or rituals (compulsions) in which individuals engage to rid themselves of these thoughts. Examples of common compulsions include washing hands or cleaning the house excessively for fear of germs, checking work repeatedly for errors, and constant ordering and rearranging.

  • POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a form of anxiety that develops after a person is exposed to severe physical or emotional trauma. Thoughts, feelings and behavioural patterns become seriously affected by reminders of the event, such as intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional distress, sometimes months or even years after the traumatic experience.

  • SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

    Social anxiety disorder is a mental health condition where individuals experience extreme fear and avoidance of social situations due to concerns about judgement, embarrassment, or humiliation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Depending on the symptoms, anxiety disorders may be classified into a variety of categories or types, including:

Symptoms such as extreme fear, shortness of breath, racing heartbeat, insomnia, nausea, trembling and dizziness are common in these anxiety disorders. Although they may begin at any time, anxiety disorders often surface in adolescence or early adulthood. There is some evidence that anxiety disorders run in families; genes as well as early learning experiences within families seem to make some people more likely than others to experience these disorders.

The anxiety disorders differ considerably, so anxiety treatment should be tailored to the person’s specific symptoms and concerns. If an individual has an obsessive-compulsive disorder, their anxiety treatment will be different from that of someone who is receiving counselling for anxiety attacks. The length of therapy will also depend on the type and severity of the anxiety disorder. In most cases significant improvement can occur within 8 to 10 sessions.

Although medications can often be the first line of defence in the treatment of anxiety disorders, anxiety therapy (unlike anxiety medication) treats more than just the symptoms of the problem. Therapy for anxiety can help identify the underlying causes of the person’s worries and fears as well as empowering them with strategies to cope with future episodes.

Contact Us

If you think that you or someone you know could benefit from anxiety counselling, please give us a call on 07 3831 4452, fill out an online enquiry or learn more about how to help someone with anxiety.

The practitioners provide anxiety counselling and treatment from our Brisbane (Wickham Terrace) rooms, with the option of Zoom or phone consultations also available. Our receptionists are very kind and friendly and are always keen to assist you with any questions you may have. We look forward to being of help!

Get in touch

Please complete the following form and one of our friendly team will get back to you shortly

FAX (07) 3831 4457
Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri 7:30am-7:00pm
Sat 8:00am-5:00pm

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.