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Affirming and compassionate therapy for trauma and relationships in Denver, CO.
 
 
Photo of plants in vases. Are you looking for new ways to manage anxiety? Discover how anxiety therapy in Denver, CO can help you heal from anxiety. Connect with a Denver anxiety therapist today!
 

Anxiety Therapy in Denver, CO

Anxiety therapy is about so much more than simply ‘treating’ what we can see on the surface.

We’re all familiar with anxiety - that echo of a fight or flight response that sends adrenaline coursing through our body, our minds moving one hundred miles per hour, our heart rate and breath out of whack. Anxiety alone is difficult, as are the roots that typically exist underneath it. Past experiences and their linked core emotions - like fear, anger, sadness, or disgust - often feel too overwhelming for us to tap into on our own and are primary drivers for anxiety.

If emotions are an iceberg, anxiety is the visible tip and these big emotions are what lay beneath the water, unseen and untouched. 

Together with your anxiety therapist, you can peel back the layers of anxiety, process through the emotions and past memories that are keeping you stuck (i.e. what’s hidden beneath the tip of the iceberg), and find a new, regulated baseline for your nervous system to exist within.

 
 
 
 

Connection-Centered Anxiety Therapy in Denver, CO.

In our work together, you’re in the driver’s seat, and there are no judgments, rules, or expectations. We trust that you, and you alone, are capable of knowing what your body needs, and that our role is to be the most passionate and attuned member of your team, supporting you wholeheartedly along the way. 

At CZTG, we believe that therapy should be a space to counteract the aloneness we so often face in the world. While many anxiety therapies revolve around homework and prescribing changes for clients to make outside of session, our approach focuses on promoting healing and growth during session, where we can walk alongside you every step of the way.

You might be wondering what this actually looks and feels like in practice. The answer to this is twofold: the space we co-create with clients is both entirely unique to you and grounded in our therapists’ shared values and advanced training in anxiety therapy. We will focus on our relationship with you, the emotional experiences happening in the moment throughout our session, and how you experience them in your body. Our therapists also promise to check in with you across sessions about how the process is feeling for you. Unlike other spaces where there are answers we “should” reply with, your therapist is genuinely curious about what could be better and what’s working well. There is no such thing as a “wrong” answer in therapy. If this resonates so far, feel free to explore more about our values and approach.

 
 

Some Areas we Can Support You In

Panic Attacks

Perfectionism

Relationship Anxiety

Physical/Somatic Anxiety

Obsessive/Intrusive Thoughts

Social Anxiety

Anxious Attachment

Anxiety Around Sex/Intimacy

Sleep Disturbances

 
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somatic anxiety therapy

 
 
Photo of stacked books and red flowers. Somatic anxiety therapy for long lasting symptoms of anxiety can be life changing. Connect with an anxiety therapist in Denver, CO to learn more.
 

We call this sweet spot of existence the “window of tolerance”.

When we are here, our bodies, minds, and emotions reflect calm and safety. Physically, our heart rate is steady, our breath is measured, our posture is relaxed. Emotionally, we feel capable of connecting to our self-compassionate voice within and to trusted others. Mentally, we are in control of our decision making processes and our thoughts are not laced with a sense of danger or urgency. Anxiety removes us from our Window of Tolerance to a state called “hyper-arousal”. In simpler terms, it means our nervous system is running too fast and too hard, all at once. 

Anxiety therapy helps us:

  • Identify what triggers remove us from our window of tolerance

  • Build awareness to track what we feel emotionally, physically, and mentally when anxiety emerges

  • Create tools to return to our Window of Tolerance and stay there!

Perhaps you already have tools that help you bring down your anxiety, but you’re frustrated that it keeps showing up anyway. Therapy lends a unique hand in situations like this as it helps us lean into regulation tools we already have, and then sink deeper. Your therapist will help ensure that your nervous system remains out of fight or flight mode as you begin to touch upon memories and feelings related to the stuck trauma. Often, when what is stuck is held, given permission to be re-examined and felt, the anxiety that existed to mask it melts away and does not return. 

 

Anxiety has a sneaky way of showing up in our bodies.

You may have heard the age-old saying “The body keeps the score” which refers to our nervous system’s capacity to hold onto old, unprocessed emotional experiences and traumas. Even when our nervous system has done its job to keep us safe. Often by putting the painful stuff in a box and storing it on the highest, farthest shelf where we can’t see it. Our bodies still ‘keep the score’ by remembering what’s tucked away in that box and warning us when there might be another threat, either real or perceived.

The more that’s in the box and the longer it’s been stored away, the more sensitive our threat gauge becomes, often causing it to over-function and perceive threats when they aren’t actually present anymore. Physical/somatic symptoms of anxiety are simply signals from your nervous system that you might not be safe.

Somatic symptoms of anxiety can look like this:

  • feeling jittery or shakey                     

  • a fast heartbeat, pounding heartbeat, or heart palpitations

  • sweating or feeling hot  

  • nausea and stomach distress

  • tightness in your muscles and chest 

  • shallow breathing or holding your breath

Somatic anxiety therapy addresses anxiety at the root - those things that live inside our “don’t go there” box. 

Together, we can process through all that’s been too heavy to hold alone and find tools to regulate your anxiety, allowing your nervous system to settle into a new, regulated baseline. 

 
Photo of vase and red floral. Anxiety can be overwhelming. Learn how anxiety therapy in Denver, CO can help you begin to overcome your symptoms in a healthy way. Connect with a somatic anxiety therapist today!
 
 
 
 
 

we help clients regulate their nervous systems and move through anxiety using:

 
 
 
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blogs: Denver Anxiety therapy

01.

all about anxiety: uncovering its roots and ways to address it

02.

how trauma can be the root cause of anxiety + how therapy can help

03.

finding our window of tolerance - somatic anxiety therapy

 
 
 
 
 

EMDR Therapy for Anxiety

EMDR Therapy is a trauma processing tool that has so many uses, including the management and reduction of anxiety! EMDR is beneficial because it helps free “stuck” trauma or unprocessed emotions lodged inside our nervous systems. Just like when we are choking on something and need to cough it out, our body attempts to “cough out” stuck emotions and experiences on its own, with varying success. Sometimes, time itself resolves what is distressing. Other times, especially when the trauma that occurs is too big or overwhelming for our bodies to process, fragments of it (scents, sights, noises, etc) are stored in our bodies without being filed away or understood. These fragments show up in many different ways, including depression, hypervigilance, numbness, self-critical thoughts, and anxiety. 

EMDR therapy for anxiety helps us isolate what these fragments are, process them safely, and neutralize them so that if reminders of them show up in the present (i.e. triggers) we do not automatically revert to reliving the past. EMDR is most frequently used for processing past experiences, but it can also be used as a future resourcing tool (for example, helping us establish confidence with public speaking). Curious to learn more? Explore how EMDR works and what an EMDR session feels like on our blog.

 
 
 
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parts work therapy for anxiety

We all have different ‘parts’ of ourselves that hold onto past life experiences, learned narratives, and traumas. When these parts aren’t recognized or attuned to, they often carry with us old wounds that create painful experiences - such as anxiety - in the present day.

Parts work therapy - sometimes referred to as inner child therapy - allows us to access the root of our anxieties by connecting with the past parts of ourselves that are hurting and creating new, healing experiences in the present moment. 

Parts work is not just about our younger selves. Parts work also recognizes what personas or roles we have to create or lean into to survive tough times. For example, if our caregiver was often absent because of substance abuse and we had a younger sibling, we may have had to step into a ‘parent’ role to take care of them.

Even when trauma is over, these roles or personas can follow us into the present and take over when we don’t need them or want them to. Feeling like we “aren’t ourselves” is one of the most common and greatest sources of anxiety, and a turning point for some to come to therapy.

 
Photo of decorative candles. Parts work can be an integral piece of anxiety therapy in Denver, CO. If you’re looking to heal your inner child, reach out to explore parts work with a Denver anxiety therapist on our team today!
Photo of a vase with flowers. Denver parts work therapy can help you heal from anxiety. Curious to learn how? Explore anxiety therapy in Denver, CO on a free consult call with one of our specialists today!
 

Parts work therapy can rewire the brain and allow for new, healthy neural networks to form.

Through this process, we’re able to come out of persistent states of anxiety and access a state of calm and connection. Parts work therapy for anxiety helps identify what parts protected/protect you during trauma and the emotions, thoughts, and body cues that come with this part. Being able to track this part in session with a non-shaming, observing other gives us insight as to why this part exists and what core needs it’s trying to fulfill for you.

Once we know what those needs are, we can work together to fulfill them in the present moment, making room for your present self to flourish and keeping the past at bay. 

If this resonates with you so far, consider exploring more about how parts work therapy helps people with anxiety and feel free to schedule a free 15-20 minute consult call. A Denver anxiety therapist on our team would be happy to explore whether anxiety therapy at CZTG is the right fit for you!

 
 
 
 

Social Anxiety

Anxiety is overwhelming and isolating enough as it is. When it seeps into our capacity to engage in daily connection with others, the impacts of anxiety can seemingly snowball. What do we do when we know that anxiety thrives in isolation and is often the root of isolation itself? Anxiety therapy can be a transformative space to work with this double-edged sword.

For those without social anxiety, therapy can already feel awkward or a little vulnerable. If we have social anxiety, the thought of sharing deep parts of ourselves, alone, with a stranger, may feel wholly terrifying. Your therapist recognizes this, and promises to meet you with patience, no shame, and no obligations to dig deeper or quicker than you want to.

Social anxiety often exists in part because of a negative feedback loop: we feel judged by others so we keep to ourselves or avoid contact with others, and because we are avoided by others we are then judged, causing us to continue avoiding others even more deeply. Therapy helps cut off this negative feedback loop in its tracks, because your therapist is there to be curious about your anxiety, soften it, or simply observe it, not make it bigger! Vulnerability can never be forced, nor can a secure relationship. Your therapist will stand by you at whatever pace feels comfortable to learn more about you and welcome all of your feedback.

 
 
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anxiety therapy for perfectionists + overthinkers

 
 
Photo of cacti. Anxiety and perfectionism go hand and hand. You don’t have to feel crushed by the weight of impossible standards. Explore anxiety therapy in Denver, CO and connect with an anxiety specialist today to see if we’re a good fit for you!
 

Therapy can help you break free from the tight grip of perfectionism.

How, you might ask? First and foremost, anxiety therapy helps us externalize this inner judgment. By naming it out loud and making it separate from ourselves, we are automatically taking away some of its power.

Anxiety therapy also helps us understand where this voice came from: often the explicit or implied narratives of our family, our friends, our partners, or groups we belong to. 

Through this process, we’re also able to get in touch with the impact of this critical voice on our bodies. The experience of rumination is disruptive: we lose touch with perspective and become enveloped in the worst case scenario, which can often trigger our fight or flight response. We cannot see and act clearly if our bodies believe they are in a scenario of great danger.

Lastly, anxiety therapy helps us challenge unsustainable or unkind expectations set by ourselves or others. We get to come back to the driver’s seat and determine realistic, self-compassionate, and presently-grounded norms for how we perceive and respond to the world around us. 

 

Calling all perfectionists and overthinkers.

Does an inner voice often tell you to “get it right”? “Give 100% or else?” “I have to do it this way”? What about an internal sensation that feels like a riptide or a vacuum: once a train of negative thoughts begins, it does not stop, the negative thoughts continue to grow, and you become consumed in a cloud of anxiety you can’t escape? 

These are experiences common to those of us who identify as overthinkers or perfectionists, and in both cases, anxiety is one of the greatest emotions at play. Anxiety is the after-effect of not meeting our standards, and it also may be the precursor in setting our high expectations. 

While a small level of anxiety can be adaptive, (i.e. if we are nervous about doing well on a test, anxiety motivates us to study) it can become destructive if it's a relentlessly hungry, insatiable force. 

We can never feel good enough in our own skin or the efforts we put forth if our inner voice forces us to doubt our every move or believe that we have missed the mark in some way. Living in a perpetual state of self-criticism denies us from being fully present in our relationships and natural world. It simply doesn’t feel good! 

 
 
 
 
 

When Anxiety and OCD Collide

Anxiety and OCD don’t always intersect, but when they do, day-to-day life can feel entirely overwhelming and exhausting. OCD (or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a disorder that is characterized by recurring, involuntary thoughts (obsessions), repetitive behaviors to counteract or respond to obsessions (compulsions) or both. Our anxiety therapists conceptualize OCD as a trauma response: our body’s way of coping with something distressing that has never had the space to be fully processed. The obsessions are signs from our body that say, “Something that requires attention is here!” and the compulsions are ways to ease the alarm bells. 

The experience of thoughts and/or actions feeling outside of our control is anxiety producing. We want our bodies, thoughts and emotions to be on our side and recognize when no risk is present, but this isn’t always possible for a nervous system stuck in an OCD response. This can feel defeating and lead to shameful views of self like “I’m crazy” or “something is wrong with me”. 

We explore OCD from a trauma-informed lens and seek to understand what’s driving the OCD and its unique manifestations, rather than simply offering a band-aid solution. Your anxiety therapist will get curious with you about circumstances you have experienced that are related to, triggered by, and associated with your intrusive thoughts, and learn about the function of the compulsions associated with them. The intent here is to isolate the trauma driving the OCD as a defense mechanism. When we can understand what your needs are underneath the anxiety, we can learn how to achieve them and create a sense of order, wellbeing, and control without the compulsions at play.

 
 
 

CONNECT WITH A DENVER ANXIETY THERAPIST

 
 
Photo of Denver anxiety therapist Jordan Kurtz. Are you looking for an anxiety therapist to help you move through anxiety? Learn how anxiety therapy in Denver, CO can offer the support you need!
 

jordan kurtz

what makes your approach to anxiety therapy unique?

My own experiences in therapy and times with friends and family have taught me that it feels really minimizing to be told, “Don’t overthink it” when it comes to anxiety. How often has that helped any of us? I want my anxiety to be understood as a response that happens when something important to me is being threatened. I also want my anxiety to be validated, including the scope of its impact (i.e. how it can make me feel physically and emotionally exhausted). I promise to see the depth and root of your anxiety without judgment, and also promise to collaborate with you to manage it in ways that are not just “changing your thoughts”.

 
 

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coming soon

 
 
 

 FAQ | Anxiety Therapy in Denver, CO.

 

  • The therapists at CZTG pride themselves for their commitment to being person centered and utilizing multiple modalities of anxiety therapy in Denver. What this means is we see you versus a diagnosis, we rely on your input versus a fixed course of action, and we view the relationship between therapist and client as valuable in the reduction of anxiety symptoms.

    Anxiety therapy here offers the warmth, lack of judgment, and true human connection that is so often missing in the real world and often a catalyzing force for anxiety. One of the unique parts of our practice is the opportunity to get a feel for our therapists before making a commitment: we offer a free 15-20 minute consultation to discuss your needs, hopes, and reasons for pursuing anxiety treatment. Click here if you want to initiate this process and see if CZTG is indeed the best place for you. 

  • Each therapist at CZTG holds a master’s degree in a therapy-related field and is fully licensed to practice therapy in Colorado. We don’t believe that learning should stop after grad school or full licensure, and all of our therapists are required to undergo additional advanced training and ongoing weekly consultation.

    Our group practice is unique, in part, because we are all specialists, not generalists. While each therapist’s training is somewhat unique (and is detailed on their individual bio pages), our entire team operates using similar modalities and approaches. We’re all fully trained in EMDR trauma therapy and are rooted in the principles of AEDP therapy, somatic therapy, and parts work therapy.

  • Like we mentioned above, anxiety in episodic, low level quantities is a natural and productive emotion for our nervous systems that alerts us to threat and directs action. Since anxiety is hardwired into our nervous systems for survival purposes, it is rare to live a life entirely free of anxiety. However, we know anxiety therapy is doing its job when:

    • We experience more calm, groundedness, and safety in our bodies than not

    • A trigger that once made us feel 10/10 awful now feels like 4/10 (or lesser)

    • The presence of anxiety does not make us feel like we are a “bad” or “weak” person

    • We can choose from different ways of self-soothing when anxiety arises

    • We know how to constructively communicate our anxiety triggers and needs to others  

    • We can be aware of the anxiety without being consumed by it

  • Full disclosure: talking about daunting things with another can create and/or heighten existing anxiety. Another full disclosure: anxiety that is met with unconditional support from a trained professional with attention to nervous system regulation and your other needs lessens, softens, quiets, and minimizes anxiety. Your CZTG anxiety therapist understands that therapy can be a scary process and that processing hard things in our past can naturally come with some anxiety. Your therapist promises to be attuned to your body cues and your emotional thresholds to gauge when to slow down, when to stop, and when to dig deeper. No assumptions are made about what “you can handle” and becoming familiar with the constraints of our anxiety can actually empower us to understand its triggers and its solutions more easily. 

  • This is one of those questions that is greatly person dependent, which is why we offer the ability to meet in person at 3035 E Evans Avenue, virtually from the comfort of your own home, or a little bit of both. The best type of therapy is the therapy that meets your needs for growth and safety on an evolving basis. The connection you forge with your therapist and the growth you can feel in session are greater determinants for healing than virtual versus in person - so the choice is yours! We believe strongly that transformation can occur through a screen or on one of our therapy couches. 

  • Whether you’re coming to therapy for anxiety treatment or for other concerns, the answer to this question is always person dependent. For our therapists to establish the greatest understanding of your story and needs - and for you to feel comfortable being vulnerable - we recommend beginning with weekly therapy whenever possible. After working together for a month or two, you and your therapist can discuss if this frequency feels good or if it would be best to move to once every other week. We meet with clients at a minimum of twice per month in order to ensure that it’s effective and beneficial.

    Because all work at CZTG is trauma-informed and approaches anxiety, depression, and other symptoms from their root, therapy is typically ongoing over a course of many months to many years. A lot of our clients maintain regular therapy as part of their ongoing self care routine even after they’ve worked through the issue(s) that initially brought them to therapy. However, therapy is voluntary at all times and you dictate when you feel like it has accomplished what you intended it to.

  • We believe that life already has enough spaces full of ‘to dos’. Why should therapy be another? Our anxiety therapists believe in the healing power of creating change in the room itself, with another human, versus on our own. That being said, if it feels supportive to you to deepen themes or interweave exercises introduced in the therapy room in the outside world, your therapist can absolutely work with you to create some between session structure.

  • Exposure therapy is a behavioral therapy technique that involves gradually increasing direct or indirect (i.e. through visualization) exposure to an anxiety trigger. The anxiety specialists at CZTG do not use this approach unless you and your therapist collaboratively decide this would be beneficial and it can be implemented safely. Without consideration for nervous system regulation, the degree of the fear, or its potential root in trauma, exposure therapy can create more harm than good if conducted improperly. That’s why we decide to lean on other modalities, like AEDP or EMDR, to help process and manage anxiety primarily.

 
 
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Get Started with Anxiety Therapy in Denver, CO

 

1. reach out to schedule a free 20-minute consult call at CZ Therapy Group

 
 
 
 

3. begin your journey of nervous system healing and growth.

 
 

Other CZTG Offerings: Therapy in Denver, CO