Escondido, California
Anxiety counseling for children, teens, and adults
Anxiety often feels like a massive obstacle that seems impossible to get past. It is also one of the most treatable conditions in mental health. You do not have to face it on your own.
Where this goes
Anxiety and stress should not control you
Anxiety disorders are highly responsive to treatment. By reducing these symptoms, stress levels can be decreased and we can free up space to enjoy life instead of constantly worrying about it.
The mountain of anxiety can seem overwhelming. Imagine standing on the top of that mountain, looking down at all that you have overcome. From the Pinnacle, you have the most beautiful view. A view you would have never seen had you not taken that first step.
Where it comes from
What anxiety is, and why it happens
Believe it or not, anxiety actually evolved as a crucial survival response. Anxiety triggers the "fight-or-flight" response, which allows us to make quick decisions so that we can protect ourselves from danger.
Anxiety only becomes a problem when the brain and body overestimate the threats in the environment and, as a result, cause us to feel like we need to constantly be on alert despite a lack of actual danger. This constant state of alertness can disrupt our normal functioning by making us fixate on certain aspects of our experience, which in turn prevents us from utilizing our energy in more adaptive ways.
Anxiety disorders have emerged as the most common mental health issue in the United States. Common expressions include excessive worry and difficulties controlling the worry, irritability, difficulties sleeping, muscle tension, headache, and irrational expectations. Symptoms can be immobilizing, making it feel unmanageable to face certain situations.
For parents
Anxiety looks different in kids
There is no age limit on stress and anxiety. Some parents have always seen their child as a "worrier." Some families notice the effects of stress on their child for the first time. Others see anxiety appear only after a trauma or another high-stress event.
Children affected by anxiety and stress are often mislabeled and misdiagnosed. We take the time to complete a comprehensive evaluation of each client so that we can provide accurate and effective treatment, helping children manage their symptoms so they can get back to school and back to being a kid.
Refuses schoolwork, thrives socially
His teacher reports that he refuses to complete school work and spends class time socializing. One on one he is a completely different student: compliant, friendly, apologetic. His fear of criticism from his peers takes precedence. He fears his friends will tease him if he gets good grades.
We target the belief driving the avoidance, then build his tolerance for being seen succeeding, starting with situations small enough to survive.
Excellent grades, never raises her hand
She fears humiliation at the risk of saying or doing something wrong, so she refuses to try things unless she can be certain of success. She spends far more time than expected on assignments, often staying up late. In the morning she is too tired to get moving, and may miss school entirely.
Our providers have her practice being imperfect on purpose, with support, until getting something wrong stops carrying the weight she has attached to it.
Frozen in public, talkative at home
At school or in the community he finds himself frozen, unable to speak. His mother explains that he is "shy," wanting to protect him from discomfort. At home with family or close friends he is talkative and high energy.
Pinnacle treats this one directly. It has a name, and an approach built specifically for it. See selective mutism, one of our core specialties.
Sick on Monday, fine on Saturday
When her teacher announces group work, she feels sick and asks for the nurse. Despite being seen by a number of medical specialists, there is no medical explanation for her pain. On weekends her symptoms improve. Monday morning they reappear, and her school has raised concern about her absences.
The stomach aches are real, not invented. We work on the anxiety producing them while rebuilding school attendance step by step.
We also understand the value of family, so parent training is often a big part of our therapeutic work together. This way treatment can continue at home, increasing the likelihood of lasting results.
Our approach
How our counselors help you overcome anxiety
Research has established Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with gradual exposures as the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders. The goal is to replace intrusive, worrisome thoughts and beliefs with ones that are more helpful and realistic.
01
Get to know you first
Every client starts with a thorough diagnostic evaluation, so the plan is built on an accurate picture rather than an assumption.
02
Build the skills
Treatment focuses on stress management alongside relaxation and mindfulness techniques, giving you something to use the moment anxiety rises.
03
Gradual exposure
Where appropriate, we conduct exposure activities alongside you, approaching the situations that generate the most anxiety at a pace you can sustain.
Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone.
What makes this different
An office is not real life
Anxiety rarely shows up in a quiet room with a therapist. It shows up in the classroom, at the checkout counter, in the restaurant, at the party.
So when you are ready, we leave the office. We take you into the real world to work on your anxiety in the places it occurs the most, through exposure based and skills focused interventions. Proving to yourself that you can complete tasks that have traditionally been worrisome will help increase your confidence and decrease your anxiety levels.
We will walk right alongside you as you work on your toughest challenges. For clients who want that work concentrated rather than spread across weekly sessions, it also runs as a structured exposure program.
Adults
Not just for kids
Most of our anxiety work is with children and teens, and we treat adults as well. We use evidence based treatments to provide individual, group, couples, and family therapy, and we specialize in anxiety, trauma, OCD, and selective mutism.
Adults who have managed anxiety for decades often assume it is simply who they are. Frequently it is not, and the same exposure based methods work at forty as they do at nine. What changes is the pacing and who drives the plan.
Learn more about counseling for adults and for children and teens.
Questions we hear most
Before you call
How do I know if my child's anxiety needs treatment?
The line is impairment. Most children worry sometimes. Anxiety becomes a problem when it stops a child from functioning: refusing school, avoiding friends, missing sleep, or reporting stomach aches with no medical cause. If that pattern has lasted months rather than days, an evaluation is a reasonable next step.
What actually happens in the first session?
An hour long intake where your clinician gathers a complete history to get to know you and build the most personalized plan possible. No treatment decisions are made before that conversation.
Is exposure therapy going to make my child more anxious?
Exposure is gradual and collaborative, never a surprise. Your child helps set the pace and knows what is coming. The short term discomfort is the mechanism: each completed step teaches the brain that the feared outcome does not arrive, which is what lowers anxiety over time.
Do you really leave the office?
Yes, when a client is ready. We go into schools, because that is where the silence costs a child the most. We also pick places where you have to speak to get something you want: ordering ice cream, asking for a donut. Say the words, get the thing. The reward lands immediately.
What if it is not anxiety?
That is one reason we evaluate first. Attention, learning, and developmental differences can look like anxiety from the outside, and can also sit alongside it. Where that question is open, we offer psychological testing, including autism and ADHD evaluations.
Do you treat adults, or only children?
Both. Children and teens are the heart of the practice, and we provide individual, group, couples, and family therapy for adults as well.
How long does anxiety treatment take?
It varies with the individual and the severity, but anxiety disorders are among the most treatable conditions in mental health. Many families notice meaningful change within a few months, and your clinician will discuss expected length at intake.
From our clinical team
Guides for parents
We will climb that mountain with you
Anxiety counseling for children, teens, and adults at our Escondido office, serving North County San Diego and southwest Riverside County.
No waitlist · Climb on.