Anxiety and chronic worry — evidence-based therapy in Parramatta and online.
Generalised anxiety, social anxiety, health anxiety and chronic worry respond well to structured CBT — targeted at the patterns that keep it running, not just the surface symptoms. I work with anxiety as a primary focus area, with experience that includes the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at St Vincent's Hospital, one of Australia's leading specialist anxiety services.
How anxiety & worry tends to show up.
What tends to keep it going.
Patterns are often maintained by the very things we do to cope with them. Therapy targets these directly.
Worry feels productive
It can feel like worrying is preventing bad things from happening. In reality, it trains the brain to keep scanning for threat.
Safety behaviours
Over-preparation, checking, reassurance, avoidance — they lower anxiety briefly but stop you learning you could have coped without them.
Intolerance of uncertainty
Anxiety often isn’t about the feared event itself — it’s about not being able to sit with not knowing.
Physical arousal
Tension and poor sleep feed back into mental anxiety, creating a physiological loop that needs direct attention.
CBT for anxiety — with targeted work on worry, avoidance, physiology, and intolerance of uncertainty.
Why I’m a fit for anxiety & worry.
In-person at Parramatta, serving Westmead, Harris Park, Granville, North Parramatta, Rosehill and Merrylands and surrounding Sydney suburbs. Telehealth available Australia-wide.
Common questions about anxiety & worry.
Is medication a better option than therapy?
For many anxiety disorders, CBT and medication can both be helpful, and some people benefit from both. CBT gains tend to be more durable after treatment ends. Medication decisions are best discussed with your GP or psychiatrist.
In therapy, we may also look at whether any coping strategies — including avoidance, reassurance, or reliance on “rescue” medication before feared situations — are accidentally keeping anxiety going.
Is what I’m experiencing anxiety, or just stress?
Worth clarifying at assessment. Day-to-day stress lifts when the stressor lifts. Anxiety disorders run on regardless — worry that doesn’t switch off, physical symptoms, avoidance, decision difficulty, or impact on sleep, work or relationships. If it’s primarily stress or adjustment, I’ll say so.
How long does anxiety treatment take?
Many evidence-based CBT protocols for anxiety typically run 8–16 sessions. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The right length depends on the type of anxiety, severity and complexity — we agree an expected range at session two and review as we go.
I’ve tried CBT before and it didn’t help.
Worth a conversation. CBT is a broad family of approaches and full protocol delivery looks quite different from brief psychoeducation. At assessment we’ll look at what’s been tried, what fit, and whether a different angle (full protocol, ERP, behavioural focus) is worth trying.
What about mindfulness?
Mindfulness can be useful adjunctively, but rarely solves anxiety on its own. We’ll use it if it adds traction.
Other presentations I help with.
Ready to start? Request an appointment.
The enquiry form is the quickest way to reach me. A sentence or two about what you’re looking for is enough — I’ll reply within one business day.