2 Oakdale, MN Anxiety Therapists Ready for Hire
I'm Beth, a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in helping high-achieving women of all ages to manage their anxiety so it no longer rules their lives. If you did well in college and are rocking your career but are still held back by anxiety, you are in the right place! Maybe you need to make a change but are afraid to do it...or are unsure of what that change is. Either way, let's figure it out and slay that beast!
I have helped women with a wide range of anxiety disorders from more general anxiety to more specific such as health anxiety, social anxiety, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, or OCD (did you know OCD is not just hand-washing and checking door knobs? Check out this podcast episode for more on OCD). By the way, you don't need to know what's wrong before contacting me, I will help you sort it out! In fact, I believe you only need to know what type of anxiety you have in order to find helpful resources such as books, YouTube videos, and podcast episodes. For example, there is a great book on Health Anxiety written by a mentor of mine.
If you would like to discuss counseling for Anxiety book a free 30 minute consultation call with me!
2 highly recommended Oakdale anxiety counselors
There are several other anxiety therapists in the area that I would highly recommend.
1. Javier Osuna Siles
Javier is an provider at The OCD & Anxiety Center of Minnesota in St. Paul where he provides mental health therapy for children, adolescents, and adults with a variety of Anxiety issues. He speaks Spanish as well as English. I have been in several consultation meetings with Javier and find him to be very knowledgeable, person centered, and empathetic.
Credentials: Licensed Independent Clinical Social Work therapist
Location: In-person sessions in St. Paul, virtual sessions throughout Minnesota
Best for: Children and adolescents, including school concerns.
2. Sonja Kromroy, LPCC
Sonja owns Root and Rise Psychotherapy in St. Paul. Sonja and I have had frequent interactions throughout the years as her office is just down the street from me. She is a warm and approachable therapist who uses effective treatments to help her clients.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor LPCC
Location: In-person sessions in St. Paul, virtual sessions throughout Minnesota
Best for: Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADS)
FAQs about anxiety therapy
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Anxiety in its pure form is an important human experience. It is a heightened sense of danger that has saved us historically from getting eaten by tigers, run over by a car, our child running into the street, and lots of other harrowing situations. The feeling causes us to act quickly. However, this feeling can also activate when there is no danger, which can cause mental health challenges.
Therapy with a mental health practitioner is needed when this false sense of danger feels so real that you can't manage it on your own and it is interfering with your life. For example, before making a phone call, you get an uneasy feeling in your chest that you interpret as danger so you put down the phone. The trouble is, if you avoid enough things, your life starts to shrink and you are unhappy.
Some signs of anxiety are frequently avoiding things, asking several opinions before making a decision, replaying conversations or actions over and over in your mind, having to double or triple check emails for errors, or feeling like an imposter.
If you are not sure whether therapy could help you, reach out and schedule a 30 minute free consultation with me.
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There are several benefits for anxiety therapy:
Be part of a therapeutic relationship, which provides a safe setting for sharing without judgement and acceptance of who you are.
Provides an opportunity to learn and practice the most current mental health counseling techniques for anxiety, such as cognitive behavioral techniques.
Helps you make improvements under the guise of an expert who understands the pain you are going through, knows how to treat anxiety, and believes in your ability to achieve your goals.
Gains you insight into how different parts of your life are affected by anxiety and how to manage those situations. For example, anxiety tends to feel more heightened when going through life transitions.
I have been successfully treating anxiety for over 15 years using the most current treatments available. That, coupled with my education and experience in treating relationship issues, is a great combination for helping my client's grow.
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The following are the most common modalities that are used to treat anxiety:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Teaches you how to identify and challenge distorted thoughts that contribute to anxiety.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Focuses on the idea that you cannot control your thoughts and feelings. Instead, you learn to allow them to be there while you take committed action towards the things that you care most about.
Exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP): The gold standard treatment for OCD, this therapy helps you to refrain from attempting to calm your fears and instead, become so used to the feelings and thoughts evoked by the fear that you no longer need to do anything when it happens.
Metacognitive therapy (MCT): Disputes the the common belief that negative thoughts are always relevant and important; and then teaches you how to disengage from them.
I use all of the above modalities with my clients because I have found them to be most effective with anxiety. I get to know my clients' symptoms and personalities and then tailor the treatments to them. I keep up with the most current information so I can provide my clients with the best outcomes.
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Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked in corporate business while raising two kids as a single mom. These life experiences gave me personal knowledge of what many of my clients experience. In addition, I am driven to get results for my anxious clients so they can find more joy and peace in their lives. In working with me, we will spend time in the beginning getting me up to speed on your history and what struggles you currently face. Outside of sessions, I reflect on what I have learned and bring to session different techniques to help you. I also let you be my guide to your level of comfort. I will not push you to tell me more than you are comfortable or assist on homework that does not resonate with you.
I offer a free 30 minute consultation phone call so you can hear my voice, learn more about my style and determine we are a good fit. If you would like to do that, go ahead and schedule it hear.
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After we book our first appointment, you will receive an automated email that asks you to create an account on my secure client portal and fill out the paperwork. The paperwork includes forms to sign about privacy, policies, treatment, your personal information, and a couple of questionnaires. Having you do this ahead of time helps us make efficient use of our first session together.
In the first session, I will ask you questions about what brought you to counseling, your background, strengths, and any factors that create hardship for you.
In the second session, I will take you through an exercise to help you determine goals for therapy.
Subsequent sessions will be a combination of my asking thought-provoking questions, making observations, and teaching techniques. I like to work with people weekly for the first 2 months so we can gain momentum on targeting the issues that are most important to you. When we meet less often, especially at the beginning, we end up just catching up and not progressing as quickly.
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To get started with me, you will first book a free 30 minute phone consultation. My schedule is out there so all you need to do is pick a time that works for you. I will then call you at the scheduled time where I will ask you questions and allow time for you to ask me questions to help us determine whether or not we are a good fit. If we feel good about working together, we will then schedule the first appointment via video or in-person based on your choice. Within a couple days, you will receive an email with logistical information and a link to my secure client portal where you can fill out the paperwork to get us started. After that, all you need to do is show-up in-person or on video just as you are and I will guide you through the session.