Anxiety Therapists in Charlotte, NC
I'm a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and depression. I've spent over 15 years as a clinician and researcher treating and researching these conditions and am deeply passionate about providing treatment that works. I have particular expertise in cognitive behavioral approaches, which are designed to be short-term therapies that provide people relief quickly and for the long-term. These treatments are less about what caused your mental health struggles in the first place (mostly because we know this often doesn't ultimately help people get better) and, instead, more about what is keeping you stuck in the present time. They're goal-driven and highly action-oriented, helping you make real progress as quickly as possible. My mission is to make myself obsolete as quickly as possible to get you back to fully living the life you want to live, and I know, after years of being in this field, that evidence-based therapies are the way to help get you there.
Quick caveat: my practice won't be a good fit for everyone. If you're interested in long-term or exploratory therapy, unstructured talk therapy, or are looking for treatment for issues I don't specialize in (e.g., substance use, trauma, ADHD, autism), another provider will likely be a better fit for you. Finding a therapist can be hard. To help that process a bit easier, I've compiled a list of highly qualified therapists local to Charlotte, NC who provide evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders.
Three of the best Charlotte anxiety therapists
1. Jessica D. Ribeiro, PhD
Dr. Jessica Ribeiro is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and depression with over 15 years of clinical, research, and teaching experience. She has been named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, Best Early Career Researcher by the American Association of Suicidology, and a Highly Cited Researcher by Web of Science. She has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals, with her research being cited over 13,000 times and covered in the popular press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC, and BBC, among others. She is considered an expert in leading evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatments.
Credentials: PhD
Licensed in Florida (PY10986), North Carolina (6285), and New Jersey (35I00708400); certified to provide telehealth across all PSYPACT participating states
Education:
BA, University of Pennsylvania
PhD, Florida State University
Predoctoral Residency: Warren J. Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Postdoctoral Fellowships: Harvard University; Vanderbilt University
Google Rating: 5.0
Specialty areas: eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder
Years in practice: 15+ years
2. Kevin L. Gyoerkoe, PsyD
Dr. Kevin Gyoerkoe is a licensed psychologist specializing in OCD and anxiety-related conditions. His approach is based in cognitive behavioral approaches and is certified by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. In his practice, he works with children, adolescents, and adults experiencing anxiety, OCD, and related concerns. He is also actively involved in several professional organizations, including the Anxiety Disorder Association of America, the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, OCD North Carolina, and the Mecklenburg Psychological Association.
Credentials: PsyD
Licensed in NC (4092)
Education:
PsyD, Nova Southeastern University
Google Rating: 5.0
Specialty areas: anxiety disorders; obsessive compulsive disorder
Years in practice: 20+ years
3. Andrea Umbach, PsyD, ABPP
Dr. Andrea Umbach is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, OCD, and related conditions, such as body-focused repetitive behaviors and hoarding disorder. She uses leading cognitive behavioral therapy approaches and has specific expertise in exposure and response prevention. She has trained with several experts in anxiety disorders and also authored a book focused on using CBT to treat phobias among teens.
Credentials: PsyD, ABPP
Licensed in North Carolina (4522), South Carolina; certified to provide telehealth across all PSYPACT accredited states
Education:
BA, University of Michigan
PsyD, American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University
Predoctoral Internship: Southeast Psych
Postdoctoral Fellowship: Southeast Psych
Google Rating: Not Available
Specialty areas: anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, hoarding disorder, body-focused repetitive behaviors
Years in practice: 15+ years
FAQs about anxiety counseling in Charlotte NC
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Anxiety is a normal part of being a human. Everyone experiences anxiety at times, so how do you know whether your experience is more than what's normal. There are two big factors you want to consider: (1) your level of distress and (2) your degree of impairment. Consider what effect anxiety has on your life -- how much have you been upset or bothered by your anxiety? Has your anxiety affected your relationships, social interactions, work or school performance, ability to take care of things at home, or your ability to do other things that matter to you, like engage in hobbies? Has it generally made it more difficult to show up in the way that you want to in your life?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may be experiencing more than just "normal" anxiety. If that's the case, know you're not alone. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the United States, with estimates suggesting that anxiety disorders affect nearly one in every five people in the US. Not everyone with an anxiety disorder has the same symptoms; rather, there are a few different types of anxiety disorders that exist. Here are the most common anxiety disorders and the symptoms that characterize each one:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Excessive anxiety and worry across multiple domains: Worry is the core feature of GAD. Your thoughts are often "what ifs" and worst-case scenarios. You may find yourself worrying about both big things (e.g., your work, your finances, your health, your loved ones) and small things (e.g., what to wear, being late to appointments, responding to a text).
Difficulties controlling the worry: Even in the times you recognize your worry might not "make sense", you struggle to control it. Your worry feels overwhelming and constant.
Restlessness: You may feel constantly on edge -- you feel like you're always "on" or constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Fatigue: You're exhausted. Your worry thoughts feel like they're constantly swirling in your mind and you feel depleted.
Concentration difficulties: You have a hard time focusing. Your mind constantly gets pulled back into the "what ifs."
Irritability: Little things set you off. You find yourself feeling frayed and snapping at others easily.
Muscle Tension: Your muscles are always tight, like you're always at the ready to take actions; it's hard to relax them.
Trouble Sleeping: You may struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, wake up early, or just struggle to feel restless, despite getting sleep.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Pronounced fear or anxiety about social situations where you might be judged by others: You feel extremely anxious or uncomfortable in certain social situations -- maybe it's speaking up in a meeting, meeting new people, eating around others, responding to a text, or even just making small talk with someone at the gym.
Fears of negative evaluation: You worry about whether people will judge you negatively in these situations. You're constantly worried about the possibility of humiliating or embarrassing yourself in these situations. You assume others can notice every little mistake you make and are criticizing you for it. It's nearly impossible to be yourself around others.
Avoidance or enduring situations with extreme distress: Sometimes, the fear is so intense that you avoid these social situations altogether. Maybe you skip going to social gatherings, avoid making phone calls, or stay quiet and avoid eye contact in conversations. On the times you don't or can't avoid these social situations, you endure them with intense anxiety or distress.
Fear is out of proportion to the actual threat: The intensity of the anxiety you experience doesn't match the actual threat or danger in the social situation you're in; nevertheless, it's still hard to not feel anxious.
Panic Disorder
Recurrent panic attacks: You experience panic attacks that, in most cases, seem to come out of the blue. During these experiences your fear is overwhelming and accompanied by physical symptoms like heart racing, shaking, experiencing shortness of breath, sweating, or chest pain. You feel like you might be having a heart attack or losing control.
Fear of future attacks: You start worrying about having more panic attacks. You might worry about having an attack in public or in situations where help may not easily be accessible.
Behavioral changes: You start avoiding places or situations where you've had panic attacks before or where you think you might not be able to easily escape or get help if you need it.
Agoraphobia
Fear of public places: You're terrified of being in places where it might be difficult to escape or where help might not be readily available -- this might include being in crowds, using public transportation, being in open spaces or standing in line.
Avoidance or enduring situations with extreme distress: Because of how anxious you feel, you avoid these situations at all costs. If you do have to be in these situations, you may feel like you have take precautions to make you feel safe, like needing someone to come with you, and often experience a lot of anxiety until you leave.
Specific Phobia
Excessive fear or anxiety: You have an intense, irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity. This often falls in one of five categories:
Animal Type: You're afraid of specific animals or insects, like snakes, spiders, or dogs
Natural Environment Type: You're afraid of certain elements or phenomena in nature, like storms, heights, water, or darkness
Blood-Injection-Injury Type: You're afraid of seeing blood, receiving an injection, or undergoing a medical procedure. This type of specific phobia also commonly includes a conditioned physiological response where you may faint or feel faint at the sight of blood, injury, or injections
Situational Type: You're afraid of specific situations, like being in enclosed spaces (e.g., tunnels), driving, flying or being on a bridge
Other Type: This includes phobias that don't quite fit into the other four categories, like being afraid of choking, vomiting, loud sounds, etc.
Avoidance or Enduring Situations with Extreme Distress: You go out of your way to avoid the situations or objects that cause you anxiety; if you can't avoid them, you may endure being exposed to them but with a lot of distress.
If any of these symptoms or conditions resonate with you, the next step would be to consult an expert who is trained to thoroughly assess your symptoms, whether you meet criteria for an anxiety disorder or other mental health condition, and whether you may benefit from mental health treatment.
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Anxiety is among the most treatable mental health conditions. If you decide to seek treatment for anxiety, here are some potential benefits you may experience:
Sustained reduction in anxiety symptoms: Our best available treatments for anxiety disorders are highly effective in reducing anxiety symptoms over time. Because these treatments target the factors that maintain anxiety, they typically have lasting effects, meaning most individuals are able to maintain lower levels of anxiety even when they are no longer actively in treatment.
Reduction in avoidance behaviors: Avoidance is a natural response to anxiety -- it often provides a sense of safety or relief. Unfortunately, it also services to reinforce and maintain anxiety over time. Leading treatments for anxiety therefore focus on disrupting the anxiety-avoidance cycle. This way, anxiety is actually fully addressed and people no longer experience the urge to engage in avoidance behaviors to experience short-term relief from their anxiety symptoms.
Improved confidence and self-efficacy: Successfully facing anxiety symptoms can boost confidence and self-efficacy. Patients begin to recognize that they can handle situations that they are more capable than they may have initially thought before going through treatment. This can really bolster their overall self-esteem and self-confidence.
Improved coping skills: By engaging in an effective evidence-based treatment, like exposure or cognitive behavioral therapy, patients learn new coping strategies that allow them to effectively tolerate anxiety.
Enhanced quality of life: As people begin to experience a reduction in their anxiety symptoms, their quality of life often improves. Mental space is freed up once their thoughts are not consumed by anxiety or worry thoughts. They have the bandwidth to think about and be present in other domains of their life that they value. They're more able and interested in engaging in activities they may have avoided because of their anxiety, like relationships, social activities, hobbies, career goals, etc.
Reduction in comorbid (i.e., co-occurring) mental health conditions: Anxiety is associated with an increased risk of several other mental health conditions, including depression, eating disorders, OCD, substance use, sleep problems, among others. If someone is experiencing other comorbid mental health conditions, treating anxiety can have positive effects on the other symptoms the person is experiencing. This is likely the case because, in part, these conditions probably share common maintaining factors, so targeting those within anxiety treatment will very likely have beneficial effects on related conditions.
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If you decide to seek treatment for anxiety, cognitive behavioral approaches, especially those that involve exposure-based techniques, are by far the best treatments we have for anxiety disorders. That's why they're considered the first-line treatments for anxiety disorders, and therefore what I implement in my practice. For many people, therapy alone is effective in fully treating their anxiety; for others, a combination of medication and therapy can be useful.
When we feel anxious, we will have a strong, almost automatic, pull to escape or avoid the situation or object that makes us feel comfortable. When something is genuinely dangerous, avoiding it makes sense. However, when it’s not actually dangerous, avoiding it can make anxiety and fear worse over time. By avoiding or escaping these situations, you miss out on learning whether your anxiety was really justified. You might start to believe that the only reason you’re okay is because you avoided the situation, which can keep you stuck in a cycle of anxiety and avoidance.
Exposure therapy helps break this cycle by gradually and safely exposing you to the things that trigger your anxiety, without letting you avoid or escape. This way, you can learn that either the scary thing doesn’t happen, or if it does, it’s not as bad as you thought. Over time, this helps reduce your fear and anxiety.
Find relief from anxiety with science-based methods that work.
Suffering from an anxiety disorder can be distressing and debilitating. Rest assured, however, that we do have treatment that works, with a very large body of psychology research showing cognitive-behavioral interventions that include exposure to be highly effective. That's why I specialize in these treatments in my practice. I strongly believe that anxiety disorders are 100% treatable. If you feel like anxiety and fear dominate your thoughts, you can get to a place where that isn't the case. As a therapist, I'm committed to working with you to get there as quickly as possible. If you're interested in learning more or discovering whether my practice might a good fit for you, don't hesitate to reach out for a free consultation.
