FOUR OFFICES ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA · TELEHEALTH STATEWIDE

Anxiety Treatment in Pennsylvania

Anxiety is the most common mental health concern in the country — and one of the most treatable. CPA Counseling’s licensed therapists help you understand what’s driving it and build skills that hold up in real life, with in-person care at four Pennsylvania offices and secure telehealth statewide.

Anxiety treatment at CPA Counseling is structured, evidence-based therapy with a licensed therapist who helps you find what’s driving your anxiety, build practical coping skills, and make a plan for lasting relief — in person at our four Pennsylvania offices or by secure telehealth anywhere in the state.

Anxiety does not have to cause you to miss out on simply drinking a cup of coffee
No program commitments
UPMC · Aetna · Highmark · Cigna
All ages treated
Telehealth available statewide
Serving Clients since 2015

The Real Problem

It isn’t the worrying — it’s what the worrying costs

Most people don’t come in because they’re anxious. They come in because of what anxiety has quietly taken — sleep, opportunities, ease with the people they love — and because it’s been taking a little more each year.

What it looks like from the outside

Declining the invitation. Rewriting the email six times. Taking the long route that avoids the bridge. From the outside it reads as busy, or careful, or particular — which is why so few of the people around you know how much effort an ordinary day is taking.

What it feels like on the inside

I’m exhausted and I haven’t done anything. I can’t trust my own read on this. Everyone else seems to find this easy. The commentary runs underneath the whole day, and it’s almost always harsher than anything you’d say to someone you love.

Why this isn’t just how you are

Anxiety builds slowly enough that it starts to feel like personality rather than something happening to you. It isn’t. It’s a threat-response system that learned to fire early — and what it learned, it can learn differently.

WHY THERAPY WORKS

Anxiety is learned — which means it can be unlearned

Anxiety isn’t a flaw in your wiring. It’s your threat-response system working exactly as designed, calibrated to danger that has since passed or was never there to begin with. At some point it learned that staying alert kept you safe, and it has been faithfully applying that lesson ever since.

“Your brain adapted to keep you safe. Therapy helps it learn that you already are.”

Avoidance is what keeps teaching it

Every time you avoid the thing that frightens you, the relief arrives immediately — and your brain files that relief as proof the threat was real. That’s why anxiety tends to grow rather than fade on its own. The short-term fix is also the long-term instructor

What therapy actually changes

Treatment works by giving your nervous system new evidence, at a pace you can tolerate, until the alarm stops firing at things that were never dangerous. Anxiety is among the most treatable mental health conditions there is. Most people feel meaningful change in months rather than years, and the skills keep working long after therapy ends.

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WHAT TENDS TO CHANGE FIRST

The moments that make life better

Sleep

Often the earliest shift, and the one that makes everything else more possible.

The physical symptoms

Racing heart, tight chest, and stomach tension usually settle before the worry itself does.

Your reaction to the reaction

The dread about the next panic attack tends to fade before the attacks do.

One thing you’d been avoiding

Most people reclaim something specific early on, and it becomes the proof the rest is built on.

The internal commentary

The running monologue quiets last — and most durably.

Where You’re Headed

Imagine deciding without fear in the room

Not fearless — nobody is. Just able to make choices because they fit the life you want, rather than because anxiety made them for you first.

You sleep through the night

Instead of lying awake rehearsing tomorrow’s conversation, you put the day down. Sleep is usually the first thing to come back, and everything else gets easier once it does.

You say yes before you overthink it

The dinner, the trip, the role you weren’t sure you could do. Instead of finding a reason to decline, you find you’ve already agreed — and the day arrives without a week of dread in front of it.

Your body stops keeping score

Instead of running every decision past the part of you that assumes the worst, you make the call and move on. That’s the change people usually describe as feeling like themselves again.

You trust your own read on things

Instead of just surviving, date nights, laughter, and a home that feels peaceful — including for the kids who feel it too.

How it works

A clear plan – three steps

You don’t need to arrive knowing what’s wrong. Your therapist walks you through each part, at a pace you set.

1

Understand what’s driving it

Your first sessions are about mapping the pattern rather than fixing it. Your therapist looks at when the anxiety fires, what it’s trying to protect you from, and what has kept it in place — because the plan depends entirely on which of those is doing the most work.

  • When and where anxiety shows up
  • What you’ve been avoiding, and what it’s costing
  • What has and hasn’t helped before
  • The specific goals you want to reach

2

Build skills that work under pressure

Insight alone doesn’t quiet a nervous system. You learn concrete, practiced techniques — how to interrupt a spiral before it takes the evening, how to stay with discomfort instead of escaping it, how to question the thought that arrives dressed up as fact.

  • Interrupting the spiral early
  • Tolerating discomfort without escaping it
  • Challenging anxious thinking
  • Calming the physical response

3

Reclaim what anxiety took

The point was never to manage anxiety inside the therapy room. Step by step, at a pace you set, you go back to the things anxiety talked you out of — and each one gives your brain evidence that it was wrong about the danger.

  • Gradual, planned steps at your pace
  • Real-life practice between sessions
  • Skills that hold when it counts
  • Progress you can actually point to

OUR CLINICAL APPROACH

Cognitive behavioral therapy – what it actually is

CBT is the most-researched treatment for anxiety there is, and it isn’t complicated. The idea is that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors feed each other in a loop — and that changing one deliberately changes the others. Your therapist may also draw on mindfulness, DBT skills, or trauma-focused work where that fits you better.

  • Catching the thought
  • Testing it against the evidence
  • Changing what you do
  • Calming the body

What You’ll Actually Learn

Skills you keep, long after therapy ends

These are the practical building blocks of the work — named, taught, and practiced in session, then used in your actual week. You leave with tools, not just insight.

Naming the thought

Learning to hear the specific sentence underneath the dread, rather than just the feeling it produces.

Checking the evidence

Treating an anxious prediction as a claim to be tested instead of a fact to be obeyed.

Riding the wave

Anxiety peaks and falls on its own. Staying with it instead of escaping teaches your body something arguing never will.

Paced breathing

A specific, practiced technique for lowering the physical alarm — usable in a meeting, a car, or a checkout line.

Planned exposure

Approaching what you’ve been avoiding in deliberate steps you choose, so each one becomes proof rather than a test.

Worry postponement

Setting aside a fixed time for worry so it stops colonizing the whole day and your sleep.

Interrupting the spiral

Recognizing the escalation early enough to break it, before it takes the evening.

Being on your own side

Noticing the internal commentary and answering it the way you’d answer a friend who said the same thing.

MEET THE TEAM

The therapists behind your care

Every therapist is personally selected by Cristina for clinical skill, warmth, and commitment to real outcomes.

  • allison bare

    Allison Bare

    LSW · Gottman-Trained

    Locations: Altoona · Telehealth

    Skills: Gottman Method, IFS, Somatic Techniques

    Services: Marriage Counseling, ADHD, Autism

    Therapy should reflect the fact that no two people experience the world in exactly the same way.

    Allison provides Gottman-trained couples therapy and works with individuals ages 10 and up — supporting them through ADHD, autism, anxiety, addiction, grief, and life transitions.

  • Amber Kottner

    Amber Kottner

    MA, LPC

    Locations: South Hills · Telehealth

    Skills: CBT, Solution-Focused, Person-Centered

    Services: Anxiety, Children & Adolescents, Grief & Loss

    I view therapy as a special partnership.

    With more than ten years in private practice, Amber brings a warm, open, and supportive presence — an eclectic, tailored approach that helps children, teens, and adults work through anxiety, depression, grief, and life’s difficult times.

  • Ashley Spahn

    Ashley Spahn

    MSW, LCSW

    Locations: South Hills · Telehealth

    Skills: EMDR, ERP, CBT

    Services: PTSD, OCD, Anxiety

    The therapeutic relationship is a partnership.

    With a warm, empathetic, partnership-based approach, Ashley helps adults work through anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, and life transitions — and celebrate their growth along the way.

CONDITION GUIDE

Anxiety guides from our therapists

  • woman lost in thinking about to do items shown on the image

    Anxiety

    When Anxiety Starts Making the Rules

    Anxiety rarely announces itself as anxiety — it arrives as good judgment, feeling like being careful, responsible, or thinking ahead, and by the time you notice, it may have been making your decisions for years. OCD is mostly internal: intrusive thoughts, mental checking, rumination, reassurance-seeking. Both respond well to treatment.

  • Overthinking

    Anxiety

    Why Do I Keep Overthinking Everything?

    Overthinking is your mind looping on the past (rumination) or rehearsing the future (worry) in an attempt to feel safe or in control — and it’s a core feature of anxiety, not a character flaw. It feels productive but rarely resolves anything, and it steals the present moment. With support, you can learn to tolerate uncertainty, interrupt the loop, and let a decision be “good enough.” Dana Werner, LMSW helps people with overthinking and anxiety at CPA Counseling’s Robinson office in Pittsburgh’s West Hills and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Anxiety

    What Is OCD, Really? It’s More Than Being Neat

    OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) is a treatable anxiety-related condition made up of obsessions — unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that cause intense anxiety — and compulsions, the behaviors or mental rituals a person does to relieve that anxiety. It is not about being tidy or organized, and the intrusive thoughts do not reflect what someone wants. The leading treatment is ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention). Jessika Izzo, LPC helps adolescents and adults with OCD and anxiety at CPA Counseling in Pittsburgh’s Robinson area.

  • Woman practicing somatic breath work in the office

    Anxiety

    When the Feeling Arrives Before the Thought

    Sometimes your body reacts before your mind catches up — your chest tightens, you snap, you’re suddenly not okay and nothing happened in between. That isn’t a malfunction; the body’s threat response simply runs faster than conscious thought. Body-based (“somatic”) regulation skills — slow out-breaths, orienting, grounding — help you settle in the moment. Jaye Sobieski, MS, NCC, EMDR trained, works with trauma at CPA Counseling in the South Hills and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Tea for Anxiety

    Anxiety

    Tea for Anxiety: Does It Help?

    Certain teas — chamomile, green tea (for its L-theanine), lavender, and lemon balm — may gently ease anxiety, and the calming ritual of a warm cup can help settle an overwound nervous system. Tea is a complement, not a treatment, and herbal supplements can interact with medications, so check with your doctor. Lindsay Mazza, MS helps clients across Pittsburgh’s Robinson area calm anxiety at the root, in person or by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

  • Writing can help you cope

    Anxiety

    Social Anxiety Coping Skills: Build Your Toolbox

    Social anxiety is an intense, persistent fear of being watched or judged that can affect work, school, and friendships. A coping toolbox — self-awareness, mindfulness, challenging anxious thoughts, gradual exposure, grounding, and self-compassion — helps you manage it and slowly expand what feels possible. Jaye Sobieski helps teens and adults across Pittsburgh’s South Hills build these skills, in person or by telehealth across Pennsylvania.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions about Anxiety Treatment

Straightforward answers to what patients ask most often before their first session.

It depends on what is driving the anxiety and how long it has been in place. Many people notice meaningful change within eight to twelve sessions, especially with a structured approach like CBT. Your therapist will talk through a realistic timeline at your first appointment and revisit it as you go. There is no program commitment and no set number of sessions you have to buy.

No. You do not need a diagnosis, a referral, or a clear explanation of what is  wrong. Plenty of people start because something has been getting harder and
they cannot say exactly why. Your therapist will help you name what is happening. If a diagnosis becomes relevant for insurance or for coordinating with a physician, that is a conversation you will have together.

Mostly talking and listening. Your therapist will ask what brought you in, what anxiety looks like in your daily life, what you have already tried, and what you want to be different. You will not be asked to relive anything you are not ready to discuss. By the end you should have a sense of the approach and whether the fit feels right.

Research consistently finds telehealth therapy comparable to in-person care for anxiety. What matters more is consistency and fit with your therapist. Some
people prefer being in the room; others find it easier to talk from home and are more likely to keep appointments. You can start one way and switch, and many of
our clients mix both depending on the week.

Say so at your first appointment — it is useful information, not a strike against you. Often the approach was not matched to the problem, the fit was not right, or the timing was wrong. Anxiety in particular responds to specific methods, and a general supportive approach may not have targeted what was actually keeping it going.

Not necessarily, and we cannot prescribe it. CPA Counseling therapists are licensed counselors and social workers, not prescribers. Many people see
meaningful improvement with therapy alone. If medication seems worth exploring, your therapist can talk through the question with you and coordinate with your
physician or a psychiatrist, so the two sides of your care are not working in isolation.

READY TO START?

Don’t let fear keep writing your story

Anxiety rarely stays where it is. Left alone it tends to ask for a little more room each year — one more thing declined, one more route avoided, one more part of life quietly made smaller until the smaller version starts to feel like who you are.