Brittany Morrissey

With my support, clients are exposed to situations that provoke a challenging, yet manageable level of anxiety. During this process, the client is encouraged to resist the urge to avoid the situation, resist engaging in mental and physical rituals and compulsions, and to allow their body to feel the anxiety. By staying in the anxiety provoking situation, the body desensitizes to this level of anxiety and helps the client increase their tolerance of discomfort and the uncertainty.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps individuals understand, identify, and change their harmful or troubling thought patterns that negatively influence their behaviors and emotions. CBT focuses on changing the automatic negative thoughts that are harmfully impacting an individual’s mental health. These automatic thoughts significantly influence one’s behaviors and emotions.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress. You may try to ignore or stop your obsessions, but that only increases your distress and anxiety. Ultimately, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to try to ease your stress.

Eclectic therapy is an approach that draws on multiple theoretical orientations and techniques. It is a flexible and multifaceted approach to therapy that allows the therapist to use the most effective methods available to address each individual client's needs. It is also sometimes referred to as multi-modal or integrative therapy.

Anxiety disorders are conditions in which you have anxiety that does not go away and can get worse over time. The symptoms can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, schoolwork, and relationships. The cause of anxiety is unknown. Factors such as genetics, brain biology and chemistry, stress, and your environment may play a role. Physical symptoms, such as a pounding or rapid heartbeat, unexplained aches and pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath are signs of anxiety.

Social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self confidence, relationships and work or school life. Many people occasionally worry about social situations, but someone with social anxiety feels overly worried before, during and after them.