How to Choose the Right Therapy for Your Anxiety

Anxiety might make you feel like your mind is always on alert. You will probably find yourself worrying about what could go wrong, replaying conversations, or feeling tense even when everything seems to be okay. 

I have seen that therapy gives them a safe space to talk openly, understand what they have been through, and begin working on what they are carrying, which helps them cope with anxiety and move forward.

Some of the types of therapy for anxiety include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Exposure Therapy
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Psychodynamic Therapy

No single approach is right for everyone. In my experience, the most helpful approach depends on the person, their history, the patterns they are experiencing, and what they think is going to work for them.

Key Takeaways

• CBT and exposure therapy can help you manage anxious thoughts, face fears gradually, and reduce avoidance behaviors.
• ACT, MBCT, DBT, and psychodynamic therapy offer different ways to understand and manage anxiety, from mindfulness and emotional regulation to exploring deeper emotional patterns.
• The right therapy depends on your symptoms, personal history, and goals. You can work with a therapist to find an approach that fits your needs and adjust it as you progress.
• Finding a therapist you feel comfortable with matters. Whether you are seeking individual therapy in NYC or looking for anxiety therapy, ask about their approach, experience, and how they measure progress.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear, nervousness, or unease, often about something uncertain or that might happen. It is a normal stress response and can temporarily help you stay alert and focused. 

Common symptoms of anxiety include:

• Racing heartbeat or rapid breathing.
• Sweating, trembling, or muscle tension.
• Restlessness or feeling “on edge.”
• Difficulty concentrating or sleeping.
• A sense of dread, panic, or fear.

Experiencing normal anxiety and feeling more persistent, intense, and disruptive in your daily life are two different conditions. 

• Normal anxiety: Chances are high you will feel nervous or worried before an interview, a difficult conversation, a major decision, or an unfamiliar situation. In most cases, the feeling will go away once the situation passes.
• Anxiety disorder: Anxiety feels persistent, overwhelming, or difficult to control, even when there is no immediate threat. It can begin to interfere with sleep, concentration, relationships, work, or everyday activities.

Finding the right therapy to help with anxiety will give you a safe space to understand what is contributing to it and learn ways to cope.

If you are unsure about what anxiety feels like, you can also read my guide related to 5 signs of anxiety to better understand the symptoms and patterns to look for. 

Types of Therapy for Anxiety

Different therapies for anxiety look at this concern from different perspectives. Some focus on the thoughts and behaviors that are keeping you stuck, while others help you work with fear, emotional regulation, acceptance, mindfulness, or patterns that may have developed from earlier experiences. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-focused type of talking therapy that looks at the connection between your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors. 

For example, you might notice your heart racing and immediately think that something terrible is happening. That thought can increase your fear, which may force you to avoid the situation. 

In CBT, we look at this cycle together and will not tell you to think positively, but will help you to understand what is happening and find a more helpful way to respond.

How CBT helps with anxiety

A 2025 meta-analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry found CBT was probably effective for anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, OCD, and eating disorders. 

CBT helps you understand the connection between what you think, how you feel, and how you respond to anxiety. To avoid getting anxious, it helps you gradually face the situation in a manageable way.

For example, If someone avoids presentations because they think, “I will panic, and everyone will laugh,” a therapist might help them:

• Identify the thought.
• Think about how likely it is to happen.
• Start by speaking to one person, then a small group.
• Notice what actually happens.
• Gradually practice speaking in front of more people.

You learn to notice anxious thoughts and will develop more balanced ways of looking at the situation. 

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that can help when fear or anxiety is causing you to avoid certain situations. 

Avoidance can reduce anxiety temporarily, but it can also reinforce the belief that you can’t tolerate the feared situations. Exposure therapy helps you cope with feared experiences in a controlled and supportive way.

How exposure therapy works

Anxiety can sometimes become a cycle- you feel afraid, you avoid the situation, you feel temporary relief, and the fear becomes stronger the next time. 

We will begin by understanding what scares you and what you have been avoiding. Together, we can create a gradual plan, starting with something that initially can feel challenging but manageable. The process is gradual and depends on the person’s symptoms and treatment goals. 

Over time, exposure therapy can help a person to become more comfortable with fear and develop more realistic beliefs about what scares them. The important part is that you are not suddenly pushed into the situation that frightens you most. Exposure should be gradual, collaborative, and at a pace that makes sense for you. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is a type of behavioral therapy that can help you develop a different relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings. 

How ACT works

Trying to control or avoid your unwanted thoughts and emotions can sometimes increase the struggle. ACT focuses on acceptance, mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and identifying personal values.

For example, instead of thinking “Everyone will judge me,” you might learn to notice, “I am not having the thought that people will judge me.”

It will also help you understand your values and what is important to you. From there, therapy can help you take small, meaningful steps toward those things, even when anxiety is still present.

Sessions can include mindfulness exercises that will help you to step back from anxious thoughts, avoid situations, and identify actions that feel meaningful to you.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) combines mindfulness practices with ideas from cognitive therapy. It was originally developed to help prevent recurrent depression, but it can also be helpful when anxiety or repetitive worry becomes difficult to manage.

If you are constantly thinking the same thoughts, worrying about what might happen, or getting caught in your own mind, MBCT can help you learn to notice these thoughts without getting pulled into them.

How MBCT works

MBCT teaches you to pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without immediately judging them, pushing them away, or reacting to them.

For example, instead of getting stuck on a thought such as “What if something goes wrong?”, you might learn to notice, “I should avoid worried thoughts,” and then gently bring your attention back to the present moment.

Sessions may include guided breathing, body scans, mindful movement, and exercises that help you notice the connection between situations, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Additionally, you can also practice recognizing thoughts simply as thoughts rather than treating them as facts.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

The word “dialectical” refers to balancing two things that can sometimes feel difficult to hold together- accepting where you are while also working toward changing yourself.

DBT can help you better understand your emotional responses and develop practical ways to cope when feelings become overwhelming. For people whose anxiety is closely connected with intense emotions or difficulties in relationships, these skills can be useful areas of treatment.

How DBT works

DBT focuses on building skills that can help you manage difficult moments without reacting in ways that will leave you feeling worse afterward.

These skills generally fall into four areas:

• Mindfulness: Learning to stay present and notice what you are experiencing without reacting immediately.
• Distress tolerance: Finding ways to get through painful or overwhelming moments without making the situation worse.
• Emotion regulation: Understanding intense emotions and learning ways to respond to them more effectively.
• Interpersonal effectiveness: Communicating your needs, setting boundaries, and navigating relationships in a healthier way.

DBT is not specifically an anxiety treatment for every person with anxiety. Whether it is appropriate depends on the individual’s symptoms and treatment goals.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on understanding what can be underneath the difficulties you are experiencing today. It looks at how earlier experiences, relationships, emotions, and patterns that may have developed over time can continue to influence the way you think, feel, and respond in the present.

Sometimes, you may know that you are anxious or struggling in your relationships, but not fully understand why certain situations affect you so strongly. Psychodynamic therapy can give you space to explore those experiences and develop a deeper understanding of yourself.

How psychodynamic therapy works

In psychodynamic therapy, we explore patterns that are constantly repeating in your life. This might include the way you relate to others, expectations you carry into relationships, feelings that have been difficult to express, or ways you have learned to protect yourself emotionally.

Psychodynamic therapy will therefore appeal to people who want to understand their anxiety at a deeper level rather than focusing only on managing individual symptoms. The goal is to develop greater awareness of yourself and the patterns that may be keeping you stuck.

Types of Anxiety Patterns

Anxiety does not look the same in every person. Different anxiety disorders are associated with different patterns of fear, worry, avoidance, and physical or emotional symptoms. Recognized anxiety disorders include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Excessive and persistent worry about everyday areas of life, such as health, work, responsibilities, or other concerns.
• Panic disorder: Repeated, unexpected panic attacks, often accompanied by concern about having additional attacks.
• Social anxiety disorder: Intense and ongoing fear of being judged, watched, embarrassed, or negatively evaluated by others.
• Specific phobias: Intense fear or anxiety related to a particular object or situation that significantly interferes with daily life.
• Agoraphobia: Fear of situations where escape or access to help may feel difficult, which can lead to avoiding certain places or situations.
• Separation anxiety disorder: Excessive anxiety related to separation from an attachment figure. It can occur in both children and adults.
• Selective mutism: An inability or unwillingness to speak in particular social situations because of anxiety, most commonly seen in children.

Some conditions, including OCD and PTSD, can involve significant anxiety but are classified separately from anxiety disorders.

How to Choose the Right Therapy for Your Anxiety

You do not need to figure out the perfect therapy before you begin. Still, having a starting point can make the process feel less overwhelming.

Step 1: Identify your main anxiety patterns

Start by asking yourself what is troubling you most. Is it constant worry, panic, fear of being judged, avoiding certain situations, repetitive thoughts, or anxiety connected to past experiences?

You do not need to put a diagnosis on it. Simply identifying the one or two patterns that are affecting your life most can help guide the conversation.

Step 2: Consider one or two therapy approaches

Once you have a better sense of what you are struggling with, you can look at approaches that are commonly used for that type of anxiety. For example, CBT is useful for persistent worry, while exposure-based therapy can be particularly helpful when avoidance or specific fears are keeping you stuck.

Step 3: Find a therapist you feel comfortable with

Your relationship with your therapist is also very important as you should feel that you can speak honestly and that your concerns are being heard rather than judged.

You can ask:

• What type of anxiety do you typically work with?
• What approach do you usually use?
• How would we know whether therapy is helping?
• What would you recommend based on what I am experiencing?

Pay attention to how the therapist responds. A good sign is someone who listens carefully, answers your questions clearly, and is willing to adjust the approach when something is not working for you.

Step 4: Give it some time, then check in

You do not necessarily have to decide after one session if the therapy is right for you or not. If it feels appropriate, you can appear for several sessions and then pause to ask yourself: 

• Do I understand my anxiety better? 
• Am I learning something useful? 
• Do I feel heard? 
• Are we working toward goals that matter to me?

There is also no requirement to use only one therapeutic approach. Therapists may combine methods when that fits the person’s needs. The first sessions can be used to discuss your concerns, goals, symptoms, and the therapist’s approach so you can decide whether the fit feels right.

If you are looking for individual therapy in NYC or searching for anxiety therapy or a therapist in NYC, it is reasonable to ask a potential therapist what approaches they use, what they typically treat, and how they decide which method to use.

Bottom Line

There are several types of therapy for anxiety, but it is not necessarily the same for every person. 

CBT and exposure therapy may be useful when anxious thoughts, fears, and avoidance are central concerns. ACT and MBCT focus more on the relationship with thoughts and emotions, while DBT can be useful when emotional regulation and interpersonal difficulties are important parts of the picture. Psychodynamic therapy provides more space to understand recurring emotional and relationship patterns that may be connected to anxiety.

At Simona Shokrian Psychotherapy, I take time to understand and connect with each person’s experiences, relationships, history, and goals rather than assuming that one approach will work for everyone. 

If you are considering therapy to help with anxiety, I would be happy to talk with you about what you are experiencing and help you whenever the situation feels difficult to manage.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q1. Which type of therapy is best for anxiety?

There is no single best therapy for everyone. CBT is commonly used, while exposure therapy, ACT, MBCT, DBT, or psychodynamic therapy may suit different symptoms and needs.

Q2. What causes anxiety?

Anxiety can result from a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors, including long-term stress or traumatic experiences.

Q3. What are the 7 types of anxiety?

The seven anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, separation anxiety disorder, and selective mutism.

Q4. How can I reduce anxiety immediately?

Breathing exercises, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques may help reduce anxiety symptoms in the moment. Persistent anxiety may require professional support.