About Anxiety and Panic Disorders Clinic of Santa Barbara

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The Anxiety and Panic Disorders Clinic of Santa Barbara specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with Anxiety Disorders including: Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, health anxiety, stress disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (trichotillomania, body dysmorphic disorder, hypochondriasis, skin-picking disorder, and nail biting), Specific Phobias, fear of flying, test anxiety, and public speaking anxiety.

The Anxiety and Panic Disorders Clinic of Santa Barbara specializes in the Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of anxiety disorders. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has a foundation in evidence-based treatments, which have been demonstrated to be effective in a large number of research studies and publications. Research has demonstrated that between 80% to 90% of individuals with Panic Disorder make a full recovery, while between 70% to 80% of adults with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder can recover with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Research into other Anxiety Disorders has demonstrated similar outcomes with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. 

The basis of Cognitive Therapy is that thoughts influence feelings, and that our emotional responses to a situation comes from our interpretation and beliefs about that situation. For example, if you begin to experience shortness of breath and your heart racing while lying in bed, you may attribute this to having a medical condition, such as a heart attack, and begin to feel fearful and panicky. If you experience the same symptoms while running, you probably would think they are normal and not fear them. Cognitive Therapy focuses on identifying these thoughts, interpretations and belief systems and beginning to change them with a variety of cognitive therapy techniques.

Behavioral Therapy focuses on changing behavior through beginning to take small risks and changes in behavior, learning that the things you fear, may not be as dangerous as you believed them to be. We use a variety of exposure techniques, including exposure to one's thoughts and images, as well as gradual exposure to different feared situations. Other behavioral therapy techniques include: identifying avoidance and safety behaviors and Exposure and Response Prevention, a specific form of therapy used in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. We also use other modalities, including: mindfulness-based stressed reduction, relaxation training, habit reversal training, breathing retraining, couples therapy, and family therapy when indicated.