Anxiety Therapy for Adults in Sandy, Utah
Anxiety can leave you overthinking conversations, anticipating the worst, or feeling unable to relax, even when life looks fine on the outside. You may keep up with work, relationships, and responsibilities while feeling overwhelmed inside.
I’m Shilea Cooper, CMHC, and I help adults understand their anxiety, respond to themselves with greater compassion, and develop new ways of navigating daily life. At Willow Brook Counseling Center I offer in-person anxiety therapy in Sandy and online appointments for adults throughout Utah.
When Your Mind Won’t Slow Down
Anxiety isn’t always obvious to the people around you. Sometimes it looks like being highly responsible, preparing for every possibility, or taking care of everyone else’s needs.
You might recognize yourself in some of these experiences:
Replaying conversations and wondering whether you said something wrong.
Feeling pressure to get everything right or avoid disappointing others.
Struggling to make decisions without second-guessing yourself.
Feeling tense, restless, or constantly on alert.
Finding it difficult to unwind or quiet your thoughts at night.
Avoiding situations because of what might happen.
Being hard on yourself when you feel uncertain or overwhelmed.
You don’t have to wait until anxiety becomes unmanageable to seek support.
How I Approach Anxiety Therapy
I want to understand more than the worries that brought you into therapy. Together, we explore when anxiety shows up, what it seems to be protecting you from, and how it affects your relationships, choices, and sense of self.
Our work combines practical tools for the present with space to understand longstanding patterns. We might explore perfectionism, a critical inner voice, fear of rejection, or the feeling that you must always stay in control.
We move at a pace that feels manageable and choose approaches based on your needs and goals.
Understanding the Parts of You That Worry
Using Internal Family Systems informed work, we can explore the parts of you that overthink, criticize, people-please, or prepare for the worst.
Rather than judging these parts, we get curious about their fears and the roles they have taken on. This creates room to respond to yourself with more understanding and make choices with less pressure from worry or self-criticism.
I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help you notice anxious thinking patterns and practice different responses.
Our work may include:
Grounding and ways to respond when you feel overwhelmed.
Recognizing predictions, assumptions, and harsh self-talk.
Practicing a more flexible response to uncertainty.
Setting boundaries and expressing your needs.
Taking manageable steps toward situations you have been avoiding.
Making choices guided by your values.
The goal is to help you participate more fully in your life, even when uncomfortable thoughts or feelings arise.
Building Skills for Everyday Life
When Anxiety Connects to Past Experiences
Sometimes present day anxiety is connected to experiences of criticism, loss, medical stress, or other difficult events. When appropriate, we may incorporate EMDR or Lifespan Integration into our work.
We’ll discuss these approaches together, consider whether they fit your needs, and spend time on preparation and support before working with difficult experiences.
What to Expect When We Begin
Our first sessions focus on getting to know you. We’ll explore what anxiety feels like in your life, what you have already tried, and what you hope will change.
You don’t need to arrive with the perfect explanation. We’ll work together to identify your priorities and create a direction for therapy that fits you.
Take the Next Step
I offer anxiety therapy for adults in Sandy, including those coming from Draper and South Jordan, as well as online therapy throughout Utah.
If you’re ready to explore whether we would be a good fit, schedule a free 15 minute consultation.