NO WAIT LIST
Anxiety Therapy
with registered Psychologist
in the Northern Beaches or online
MEDICARE REBATES WITH GP REFERRAL
Are you feeling anxious, tense, constantly on alert?
Together we can look at what is driving your anxiety and explore ways to manage it so that it has less impact in your life.
Anxiety therapy - my mind-body approach
EVIDENCE BASED
When you first come to see me, I spend the first session or two getting a sense of who you are and what is really going on for you. I listen to your present struggles, your background, and any traumatic experiences. I draw from different theories. I take into account all of this and your preferences to decide what I will do in session.
I generally approach anxiety from 2 different angles:
The mind - I offer practical cognitive and behavioural strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you cope better from the start.
The body - At the same time, I use Focusing to reach deeper for the root cause and shift how your problem is held in your body.
The mind - the ACT framework
ACT posits that disorders result from:
Cognitive fusion (getting hooked by unhelpful thoughts)
Avoidance of inner experience
Disconnection from the present moment
Remoteness from values
Ineffective behaviours
and these are the “antidotes”:
Defusion (unhooking from thoughts
Noticing and accepting inner experience
Present moment awareness
Contact with values
Value-committed action
From an ACT perspective, the person suffering from anxiety is often hooked by worry thoughts, disconnected from the present moment and behaves in ineffective ways. However, the core of the disorder is that the person is letting experiential avoidance rule their life. The person is spending increasing time, energy and focus on trying to avoid or get rid of anxiety. As a result, the person’s range of activities and options in life are being narrowed down and life becomes a smaller version of what it could be.
While all “antidotes” may be offered to the client, a high focus is placed in noticing and accepting their inner experience. This may take different forms depending on the presentation. For phobia clients, it may be through graded exposure, slowly working their way up through feared situations.
The body - Focusing
In Focusing the body is the starting point to achieve healing. Focusing is the process of tuning into your body to get clarity about what is really going on for you and the best way forward. Focusing allows you to understand yourself at a deep level and use your body as a guide. It involves checking deep within yourself for a bodily felt sense of an issue and allowing the felt sense to unfold and guide you towards the next best step. These sensations are often subtle and meaningful. By turning toward them with curiosity and care, it is possible to gain insight and shift how you relate to stuck or painful experiences.
Learn more about Focusing.
If this mind-body approach resonates with you, please reach out.
About me - Isabel Alfonso
Registered Psychologist | Certified Focusing-Oriented Therapist and Trainer
Member of the International Focusing Institute
AHPRA registration number PSY0002146686
I aim to create a safe space for you where you feel truly heard and where you can learn to listen deeply to yourself so that you can understand your reactions, come to terms with your past, and sense what your next best steps are.
Learn more about Isabel
