Online Anxiety therapists in Paignton, England ENG, United Kingdom UK

Identify the antecedents of fear and anxiety.  

We all feel anxious. Is yours out of all proportion? Does it take you over so you feel you cannot function with calm and acceptance around ordinary challenges? If so, come and talk to me and we will explore what is going on to trap you in this debilitating version of ordinary life.  

Anxiety can feel overwhelming, like it’s in the driver’s seat of your life. In our work together, we can gently explore the parts of you that hold fear and worry, and uncover the protective roles they’ve been playing. As an example you can learn to connect with these parts from a place of compassion, you’ll begin to feel more calm, confident, and in charge. Healing is possible—and you don’t have to do it alone. If you’re ready to find relief from anxiety and reconnect with your Self, I’m here to support you.  

I offer support for anxiety and fear, including persistent worry, panic, social anxiety, and the underlying sense of unease that can shape everyday life. Many people I work with feel caught in cycles of overthinking, physical tension, avoidance, or a constant sense of being “on edge,” often without fully understanding why these patterns persist. My approach is grounded in psychoanalytic and relational psychotherapy, which means we explore not only current symptoms, but also the deeper emotional and relational roots of anxiety. Together, we pay attention to unconscious patterns, early attachment experiences, and how past relationships may continue to shape present-day fears and responses. Alongside this, I integrate somatic awareness to help you reconnect with your body and better understand how anxiety is held physically, such as through breath, tension, or nervous system activation. This can support greater regulation and a sense of grounding. Where appropriate, I may also use psychoeducation to help you understand what is happening in the mind and body during states of anxiety, which can reduce fear and increase a sense of control and clarity. I may also integrate EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques / tapping) as a tool to support emotional processing and calming the nervous system. Therapy with me is collaborative and paced according to your needs. We work gently and steadily to help you develop greater awareness of your anxiety patterns, reduce their intensity over time, and build a more secure and grounded sense of self in relation to fear and uncertainty.  

Counselling provides a space for you to explore your experiences and feelings in a respectful and confidential space. The focus of the conversation is to understand your experience and provide support to explore the ways in which you can introduce change into your life.  

Experiencing anxiety can feel crippling for many of us. I work with clients in initially building internal and external resources to help manage anxiety. Being resourced in this way enables clients to explore further, to develop greater awareness as to what is underneath the anxiety, which can help to bring a sense of greater freedom.  

Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) work together to ease anxiety and fear by addressing both the physiological activation and the emotional intensity underneath. SE helps regulate the nervous system by slowing the fast, anxious energy in the body, releasing stuck fight-or-flight responses, and restoring a sense of internal safety. ISP deepens this work by helping you stay with the bodily sensations and emotions associated with fear—like tightness, worry, or unease—without becoming overwhelmed. Together, these approaches reduce hypervigilance, calm the system, and support a grounded, steady ability to meet life’s challenges with more clarity and confidence.  

Anxiety or fear, where it is not appropriate in present circumstances, derives from the past and can be overcome when its origins are correctly identified. The need for approval underlies much anxiety. I will help you to identify the causes of the anxiety in your biography and resolve them, so that you no longer feel anxious.  

I support individuals experiencing anxiety and fear, helping them understand and manage their responses in daily life. Using evidence-based approaches, I work collaboratively with clients to reduce distress, build coping strategies, and increase confidence, resilience, and a greater sense of calm.  

Anxiety is created by ruminating about the past or worrying about what might happen in the future. It is a misuse of the imagination combined with a hyper-vigilant nervous system. Excessive fears or phobias can be debilitating and people are often embarrassed to admit to them. You are not alone! Mind-body therapies address both the physical and mental (including the emotional and psychological) aspects of fear or anxiety. You can overwrite old patterns and learn more effective coping strategies.  

Anxiety can be debilitating and distressing, and prevent you from being the person or parent you can be or would like to be. But there is a way forward for you. And I can be of support. I can offer a safe, compassionate and non-judgmental space where you can relieve thoughts and feelings you find troubling, and gently work through any experiences underlying them. You're welcome to get in touch to ask questions or book a consultation to explore if I'm the right counsellor for you.  

Anxiety can make the world feel like an overwhelming place, leaving you 'stuck' in a cycle of constant worry. Together, we will work to understand your specific triggers and develop practical, grounding tools to help you regain a sense of calm and safety in your daily life. I can incorporate EFT tapping to help you manage physical triggers in real-time.  

All of our Clinical Psychologists at ComposurePsychology are highly experienced in helping people understand, manage and overcome anxiety, fears, nervousness, phobia, OCD and panic. We draw from evidence based therapies including; CBT, ACT, CFT, SFT, DBT, EMDR, systemic, narrative, psychodynamic and others.  

General levels of anxiety have risen in recent years. Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in the US and Europe among teens and young adults, especially white females. If you are struggling with anxiety or panic attacks, I offer you 12 weeks of Autogenic Training to find your inner strength and learn how to control your mind.  

For people who have never suffered from anxiety it is almost impossible to describe how debilitating the symptoms can be. It can seem as if there is no escape from the pain and discomfort; it feels like life will be like this forever and that the symptoms can’t be helped. Conventional approaches to anxiety seek to medicate. Many physicians may tell you that your anxiety is something you just have to live with.  Counseling or mainstream psychological approaches may have you manipulate or change your thought patterns, while alternative practices may seek to have you relax or practice mindfulness.  While there is value in some of these approaches, most fail to reach that deeper understanding of the underlying cause of anxiety and panic. Symptoms of anxiety and panic are not the same as emotions of fear – these include worry, nervous, apprehension, concern, etc. In everyday life we tend to talk about anxiety symptoms and conditions as being the same as emotions of fear, nervousness and worry. This is confusing for the simple reason that anxiety symptoms are not merely amplified fear, even though this can be what they feel like in many instances. Anxiety is something of an umbrella term that covers quite a wide range of symptoms and experiences. In some instances this symptoms and conditions might relate to emotions of fear but in other instances they do not. This is why it is entirely possible to rid ourselves of anxiety symptoms whereas we cannot, and should not try to rid ourselves of healthy emotions, because they play a vital feedback role in our day to day experience of life. These are the anxiety conditions: - anxious apprehension (worry, rumination) - generalised anxiety disorder (free floating anxiety) - Intense anxiety and panic attacks - obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - phobias of all kinds including agoraphobia and social phobia - eating disorders - derealisation - depersonalisation There is an enormous amount of scientific evidence to show that various regions of the brain are either over active or dysfunctional when anxiety symptoms are present. One of the most salient issues pertaining to this kind of scientific research is that different types of anxiety symptoms correspond with different areas of brain dysfunction.The forebrain appears to be the area most affected in most anxiety disorders. This is the largest portion of the brain and includes the cerebral hemispheres, the limbic system, the thalamus and hypothalamus, amygdala and the corpus callosum. Each of the brain hemispheres is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal. Collectively, the forebrain functions to control cognitive, sensory and motor function, regulate temperature, reproductive functions, eating, sleeping and the display of emotions. When it becomes dysfunctional it is evident that the range of symptoms can be enormous.Recent studies using electroencephalographic (EEG) methods have found that patients diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder had heightened activity in the left brain regions, whereas patients with panic disorder, panic symptoms or those subjected to high stress situations exhibited enhanced activity in the right hemisphere. The important lesson from this type of research is that anxiety conditions are not all the same and therefore each case needs to be approached and treated depending on the needs of the individual and the types of symptoms present.  However, we must also be mindful that over activity or dysfunction in brain regions is not the cause of anxiety – rather this activity is caused and supported by the 4 core element model outlined below.  It is these 4 Anchors that trigger brain dysfunction, and it is only by fully addressing these that a complete cessation of symptoms is achieved. The first step is to understand the nature, structure and cause of anxiety, and then we can begin to address the cause of the symptoms. Within our culture we use the words ‘anxious’ and ‘anxiety’ to mean both the emotion of fear and a varied and debilitating set of symptoms. This can be extremely confusing since fear, in the form of worry, nervous, scared, or dread, is often very different from the symptoms of anxiety or a panic disorder. I would argue that even though many anxiety symptoms can feel like fear, it’s also the case that many anxiety and panic symptoms do not feel like fear (see Anxiety Symptoms Checklist below). This means that is possible to experience anxiety symptoms without being afraid of anything. Even though anxiety can be related to the emotion of fear at a deep unconscious level, there are many instances when symptoms of anxiety are present and there is no evidence of the emotion of fear. Most sufferers of anxiety will experience fear about the symptoms; though fear of symptoms is not the cause of symptoms.  Fear can exacerbate symptoms and make sufferers of anxietyfeel significantly worse; however it is rarely, if ever, the underlying cause. So what causes anxiety symptoms? The first step is to embrace the notion that symptoms are feedback from body and brain.  Symptoms are not some nasty evil invader trying to make us suffer, they have reason for existing and that reason is to let us know that something is not right, something is blocked and out of balance. There are Four Core Elements that lock anxiety symptoms in place. When we address these four core elements, we not only banish anxiety symptoms, we open up to the possibility of experiencing ourselves in a whole new way. The 4 core energy-flow model comprises: - FEAR & AVOIDANCE OF SYMPTOMS. Anxiety is deeply uncomfortable so it can be a natural reaction to avoid situations and events that seem to cause anxiety. Avoidance can lead to more symptoms, so carefully navigating through this is the first step. - REWIRING THE EMOTIONAL SYSTEM. Our emotion has a massive impact on body and brain. Blockages and imbalances within the emotional system are significant causes and contributors to anxiety conditions as well as a huge range of other chronic health challenges. Yet, our understanding of the nature of emotion and how to effectively process and regulate it remain poor. This element focuses in revealing the true nature of emotion and critically how to connect with it and facilitate a flow. - WEARING A MASK: As we move through life and seek to get along, fit in, be accepted and do well, we unconsciously block our true nature and end up being more of who we are not than who we are. Anxiety symptoms often tell us when we are covering up who we are, or are disconnected from our authentic core. Reconnecting with our core and removing the shackles of who we used to be takes us a step closer to being anxiety free. - CONTROL & CREATION: Whether we like it or not, we play a significant role in the creation of our experience of life and reality. However, when shackled with anxiety we feel out of control, restricted as if we have lost our freedom. Learning how to create inner freedom and design our lives is the final piece of the puzzle. The four core element model uncovers a different perspective on the cause of anxiety conditions and embraces a full understanding of the nature of the human condition. It puts you back in the driver’s seat to return to your natural healthy self. Your natural state is to be connected and happy; all that’s needed is a little guidance to help you find the way back to your default setting.  

I work with adults experiencing anxiety and long-standing fears, including those who feel overwhelmed by their inner world or caught in persistent patterns of worry, self-criticism, or hypervigilance. Anxiety can shape how people think, relate, and make decisions, often narrowing choices over time. My work draws on Integrative Art Psychotherapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), offering ways to understand how anxiety operates internally and what it may be trying to protect. Sessions focus on developing clarity about patterns, responses, and underlying concerns, rather than simply managing symptoms. We may work through conversation, creative exploration, or a combination of both, depending on what feels most useful.  

Anxiety and fear often points to the meaning of something that might happen in the future. It may be the fear of losing your job or a relationship that is struggling. It may be the anxiety from the responsibility that come with living in the modern world and what might feel like no freedom. I believe most often, anxiety is telling you something useful and critical in you life that require exploration. I invite you to come and explore your anxiety with curiosity and what it is trying to tell you. With that awareness, new choices may appear.  

Anxiety is a strong feeling of worry or fear that a person experiences when faced with an impending danger. Using person-centered counseling helps the client to discover a coping mechanism that works for them.  

I have personally experienced my own anxiety and fears and I currently help my clients to explore and understand their anxiety, it’s worries, overthinking as well as helping them to put strategies in place, bring compassion into their lives and create a pathway into the future.  

FEAR! The strongest of ALL emotions. Paradoxically it's been fundamental to our evolutionary success: particularly fleeing predators and other sources of harm. It's kept us alive for the 200,000 years of our existence as humans. We're not all that strong, we don't have claws and fangs --but we can run long distances! And it matters not one bit that our fear of that growl in the undergrowth may be unfounded. We can get that wrong 1000 times and if we flee we survive as a consequence. Just as your smoke alarm has one volume (LOUD!) it's natural to be fearful of what we perceive may harm us. We often overestimate the size and proximity of threats and conversely underestimate our ability to cope. Fear is powerful BUT it can often interfere with logic and reason. That's why we need to respect fear and reassess our relationship to it. And courage is not the absence of fear; mindset is everything and mindset can be developed to ensure we have optimal strategies for the stresses and adversities that regularly afflict us.