Chronic worry & GAD
When the worry loop never quite turns off — about work, family, the news, the future, the worry itself.
Austin, TX · In-Person & Telehealth
Anxiety Therapy in Austin, TX
For chronic worry, panic, perfectionism, and the kind of high-functioning anxiety that nobody else sees.
Anxiety isn't just thoughts that won't quiet down. It's a nervous system that learned it had to stay alert to stay safe — and now can't tell when the danger has passed. Real anxiety work pays attention to both: what the mind is doing, and what the body is bracing for.
At Haven & Harbor, we draw on CBT, MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), IFS, and EMDR when trauma is underneath. The right combination depends on you — your history, your goals, your nervous system. No two clients are worked the same way.
What we treat
Forms of anxiety we work with
Panic attacks
Sudden, body-level fear that can feel like a heart attack. We build tools first, then work upstream of the trigger.
Perfectionism
High-functioning anxiety that looks like 'achievement' from the outside and feels like white-knuckling from the inside.
Trauma-rooted anxiety
When the nervous system is bracing because something earlier in life didn't get to finish processing. EMDR and IFS help here.
How we work
Evidence-based modalities
CBT & MBCT
Cognitive tools to interrupt the worry loop, plus mindfulness-based work that changes your relationship to anxious thoughts instead of fighting them.
IFS & EMDR
When anxiety is doing a protective job — or has a trauma underneath — IFS works with the part that's bracing, and EMDR helps the brain finish processing what's still raw. More on EMDR.
FAQ
Common questions
How do I know if my anxiety is bad enough to need therapy?
If anxiety is affecting your sleep, your relationships, your work, or your sense of yourself — and especially if it's been going on for more than a few months — therapy is reasonable. You don't need to be in crisis to benefit. Most clients say they wish they had come in sooner.
How long does anxiety therapy take?
For pure anxiety without significant underlying trauma, most clients see meaningful improvement in 12–20 sessions. Some need fewer; some need more. Anxiety driven by underlying trauma typically takes longer because we're treating the root rather than the surface.
Is anxiety therapy covered by insurance in Austin?
Yes. Through Headway, Brittany is in-network with Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Oscar, Oxford, and Anthem. Anxiety treatment is billed the same as any other psychotherapy.
What's the difference between anxiety therapy and medication?
Therapy and medication treat anxiety through different mechanisms and often work well together. Therapy addresses the patterns of thought, behavior, and underlying experience driving the anxiety; medication addresses the brain chemistry making those patterns more intense. Brittany is happy to coordinate with a prescribing psychiatrist if medication is part of your treatment plan.
Can anxiety therapy be done over telehealth?
Yes. CBT, MBCT, EMDR, and IFS all work well over secure telehealth platforms. Many clients prefer telehealth because being in their own space helps with regulation.
What if my anxiety comes from trauma?
That's common — and often the most important thing to know. When anxiety is downstream of trauma, treating the anxiety alone produces partial results. Treating the trauma underneath produces durable change. See the trauma therapy page →.
Do you work with high-functioning anxiety?
Yes. Brittany has significant experience with high-functioning anxiety — the kind that's invisible to other people and exhausting to live inside. The work often involves giving yourself permission to actually rest, which is harder than it sounds.
Can I integrate my faith into anxiety therapy?
Yes. Faith is welcome in the work when you want it. See the Christian counseling page →. You don't have to keep running this hot. Schedule a free 15-minute consult to see if Haven & Harbor is the right fit. No pressure, no commitment — just a conversation.
When your mind won't slow down — evidence-based help for chronic worry, panic, perfectionism, and the weight of always being "on."
If you're searching for anxiety therapy in Austin, the day-to-day probably looks different than people realize. From the outside you may be holding it together — hitting deadlines, showing up for people, even thriving on paper. On the inside, the mind doesn't stop. The body doesn't rest. Sleep is shallow. Decisions feel impossible. The smallest thing can pull the floor out from under you.
Haven & Harbor Counseling is a small Austin practice that does anxiety therapy the way anxiety actually needs to be treated — with care for both the racing thoughts and the body underneath them. The work is evidence-based, unhurried, and shaped to who you actually are.
Brittany Zientek, LPC, has eight years of experience treating anxiety in adults, including high-functioning anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, perfectionism, and anxiety driven by underlying trauma.
What kind of anxiety we treat
Anxiety is not one thing, and the right treatment depends on what's actually going on. Brittany works with all of the following.
High-functioning anxiety
The kind nobody else sees. You're competent, organized, often praised for being reliable — and underneath, your nervous system is running hot most of the day. Rest feels unsafe. Doing nothing feels impossible. You may experience tension headaches, jaw clenching, GI issues, or chronic shoulder pain that doesn't have a medical cause.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Chronic, free-floating worry about a lot of things at once. The "what ifs" that won't stop. The anticipation that something is about to go wrong. Often comes with restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and sleep that doesn't refresh.
Panic disorder and panic attacks
Sudden waves of intense fear, often with physical symptoms — racing heart, shortness of breath, chest tightness, dizziness, a feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Panic disorder includes the fear of having another attack, which can spiral into avoidance of places or situations.
Social anxiety
Anxiety in interpersonal contexts — public speaking, meetings, parties, dating, even one-on-one conversations. Often paired with a chronic sense of being evaluated and a habit of post-event rumination.
Perfectionism
Often labeled as a personality trait when it's actually anxiety wearing a more socially acceptable costume. The driving belief is that mistakes are catastrophic and that your worth is contingent on output.
Anxiety driven by underlying trauma
Many adults who walk in with anxiety as the chief complaint discover, in the work, that trauma is underneath it. The anxiety was the nervous system's adaptation to an environment that wasn't safe. When the trauma gets treated, the anxiety quiets dramatically.
How we treat anxiety
There is no one-size-fits-all anxiety treatment. The right approach depends on what's driving your specific anxiety and what your nervous system needs.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The most well-researched anxiety treatment. CBT helps you identify the thought patterns that feed anxiety (catastrophizing, mind-reading, all-or-nothing thinking) and develop concrete tools for working with them. Especially effective for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
A hybrid of CBT and mindfulness that helps you change your relationship with anxious thoughts rather than fight them. Particularly helpful for chronic worry and rumination.
EMDR
When anxiety has a trauma component — and it very often does — EMDR helps the brain finish processing what's underneath. Often dramatically reduces anxiety symptoms once the underlying material is integrated. Learn more →.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Treats anxiety as a protective part of you that learned to scan for threat — and rather than trying to silence that part, gets to know it. Anxiety, in IFS, often quiets when the wounded parts it's protecting feel tended to. Learn more →.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Used in shorter courses of work when anxiety is tied to a specific life transition or stressor.
Somatic and nervous-system work
Across modalities, Brittany pays attention to what your body is doing. Anxiety lives in the body, and any treatment that ignores that leaves results on the table. We build practical tools for regulation, grounding, and titrated rest.
What treatment usually looks like
Sessions 1–3. We get to know what we're working with — your history, your symptoms, what's tried, what hasn't, what your life looks like right now. We start building immediate tools you can use this week.
Sessions 4–10. The active work — depending on what's driving the anxiety, this is CBT skill-building, MBCT practice, EMDR reprocessing, IFS work with the anxious parts, or some combination. Most clients start to notice meaningful change by week 6–8.
Maintenance. Many clients move to biweekly or monthly sessions once symptoms quiet, then taper off. Some come back periodically when life shifts.
For pure anxiety without significant trauma, most clients see meaningful improvement in 12–20 sessions. Anxiety driven by underlying trauma takes longer, because we're treating the cause rather than the symptom.
Practical details
Insurance: Through Headway — Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Oscar, Oxford, and Anthem are all in-network.
Self-pay: $130–$225 per session. Superbills available for out-of-network reimbursement.
Location: 6448 East Hwy 290, Ste E108, Austin, TX 78723. Telehealth across Texas.
Meet your therapist
Brittany Zientek, LPC — Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas with eight years of clinical experience. Trained in CBT, MBCT, EMDR, IFS, Trauma-Focused CBT, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Warm, collaborative, and committed to going at your pace.
More about Brittany →
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You don't have to carry it alone.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if Haven & Harbor is the right fit. No pressure, no commitment — just a conversation.