Online therapy for anxiety, worry and overthinking

Who this is for

This page is for adults whose worry has started to shape their days: at work, at home, in relationships or at night. You don’t need a diagnosis to start.

You might notice that:

• you worry about things you know are unlikely, and can’t stop
• your body feels it first: a tight chest, stomach trouble, a clenched jaw, a racing heart
• you over-prepare, over-check or avoid, and it costs you hours
• sleep is hard because your mind won’t switch off
• you look for reassurance, feel better for a minute, then need it again
• you’re short with the people you love most

This is individual psychotherapy with a licensed clinician. It isn’t coaching. Couples and family sessions are a different format that insurance may treat differently, so ask before you book if you’re interested in a joint session. Medication is a separate question: your primary care doctor or a psychiatrist can assess whether it could help, and with your permission I can coordinate with them.

What we might work on

• Mapping your anxiety: the situations, thoughts and body signals that set it off
• The worry loop, and why checking and reassurance calm you briefly but feed it over time
• Calming skills for the moment itself, such as slow breathing and grounding
• Testing anxious predictions against what actually happens
• Facing avoided situations in small, planned steps
• Sleep, caffeine, screens and the daily habits that keep your system on high alert
• Saying no and setting limits, when over-responsibility is part of the load

How the Care Map Method™ shapes our sessions

The Care Map Method™ is the framework I use to organize our work, alongside a standard clinical assessment. It isn’t a separate tested treatment. It keeps four kinds of needs in view:

Then we work in four steps:

1. Map the emotion and trigger. We pick one recent anxious stretch and slow it down: the trigger, the first thought, the body signal, what you did next.
2. Match the need with a strategy. We name what you needed in that moment, such as certainty, control or rest, and choose one skill that fits it.
3. Merge the strategy into daily life. We practice the skill in session and attach it to a real moment in your week: the commute, the inbox, bedtime.
4. Manage communication and responses. We work on what you say when anxiety is driving, to yourself and to others, then review the week and adjust.

A 15-minute worry window

Pick a set time each afternoon. When a worry shows up earlier, jot it down in a few words and tell yourself, “Not now. At four.” At four, give the list fifteen minutes. For each worry, write one thing you can do, or write “nothing to do yet.” Then close the notebook. Many people find the worries have shrunk by the time the window arrives.

How we’ll look at progress

We’ll choose markers that fit you, such as:

• how many hours a day worry takes up
• how often you check, re-check or ask for reassurance
• how long it takes to fall asleep
• whether you’re doing things you had been avoiding
• a simple one-to-ten rating of how tense you feel

We check these every few sessions and change the plan if something isn’t helping. I can’t promise a particular result; we focus on what is in your hands.

Sessions, licenses and insurance

Sessions are online by video for adults who are physically located in California, New Jersey, Oregon or Maine during each session. Licenses: California LCSW #136364; New Jersey LCSW #44SC05528100; Oregon LCSW #L16530; Maine LCSW #LC26593.

Through Alma, I’m in network with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Optum plans including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford. Coverage depends on your specific plan, not only the insurance company’s name. Alma checks it before your first session, including any copay or deductible, and handles the billing. How using insurance works.

Check Insurance and Availability on Alma →

Questions people ask

How do I know if my anxiety is bad enough for therapy?

If worry is costing you sleep, time, enjoyment or relationships, that’s reason enough. You don’t need a crisis to start. In the first session I’ll ask about your symptoms and history, and we’ll talk about what kind of help fits.

Will I learn skills, or just talk?

Both. We talk about what’s happening and why, and each session ends with something specific to try before the next one.

Can you prescribe medication?

No. I’m a licensed clinical social worker, not a prescriber. If medication might help, your primary care doctor or a psychiatrist can assess that, and with your permission I can coordinate with them.

What happens in the first session?

We talk about what brings you in, your history, your sleep and stress, and your safety. Then we pick one anxious moment to start mapping, and you leave with one small thing to try.

Do you take my insurance?

I see clients through Alma, and through Alma I’m in network with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Optum plans including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford. Coverage still depends on your specific plan. Alma checks it before your first appointment, including any copay or deductible. Please share plan and health details through Alma’s secure intake, not by text or email.

Where do I need to be during sessions?

Sessions are online by video, and you need to be physically in California, New Jersey, Oregon or Maine during each one. Your insurance plan can come from another state; what matters for licensing is where you are during the session. Alma checks whether your plan covers sessions with me.

Sources and resources

• National Institute of Mental Health: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

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