Anxiety and anxiety disorders
Anxiety is not a character flaw or a lack of willpower. It is an alarm response that, at some point, started going off outside the situations that called for it.
When it fills your days, keeps you awake or gradually shrinks what you allow yourself to do, it can help to talk about it in a calm, structured setting.
What it is
Anxiety is, first of all, a normal mechanism. It prepares the body for something that might be a problem: the heart speeds up, attention narrows, the body gets ready. Without it, we would not revise for an exam or look before crossing the road.
It becomes a reason to seek help when it is triggered without any real danger, when it outlasts the situation that set it off, or when it costs more than it protects. At that point, it is less a matter of having an anxious personality than of a pattern that has taken hold and keeps itself going.
It takes very different forms from one person to another. Some describe a background worry, almost constant, that jumps from one subject to the next without ever settling. Others have short, intense attacks, with strong physical sensations, that feel as if something serious is about to happen. Others again gradually avoid specific situations — speaking in public, driving, being in an enclosed space, being in a group — and find their life getting smaller without ever having decided it should.
These forms often overlap, and anxiety frequently comes with tiredness, irritability, poor sleep or low mood. The fact that it shows up in the body does not mean it is imaginary: the sensations are very real. It is reading them as a danger signal that keeps the cycle going.
Signs that lead people to seek help
People who come to see me about anxiety often describe some of the following.
Near-constant worry that moves from one subject to another without ever switching off
Going over things at night, or waking in the small hours with your mind already racing
Recurring physical symptoms: a tight throat, pressure in the chest, palpitations, nausea, tension
Short, intense attacks, with a fear of losing control or that something serious is about to happen
Avoiding places, journeys or social situations you used to manage
A growing need to check, anticipate and plan everything in order to feel safe
Tiredness and irritability that spill over onto the people close to you
A sense that your life is getting smaller without you having really chosen it
This list is not a test and does not provide a diagnosis. Recognising yourself in several points does not mean there is a disorder, and not recognising yourself does not make seeking help any less legitimate.
How I work with anxiety
The first stage is one of description. We look closely at when the anxiety appears, in which situations, what comes before it, what makes it rise and what makes it subside. This step seems modest, but it often shows that what seemed to come out of nowhere follows a pattern that can be identified.
We then work on what keeps the cycle going. Anxiety feeds on two common mechanisms: avoidance, which brings relief in the moment and strengthens the fear in the long run, and control strategies — checking, anticipating, seeking reassurance, going over things again and again — which give a sense of doing something while keeping the mind constantly busy. Identifying these mechanisms in your own life makes it possible to start loosening them.
My practice draws on cognitive and behavioural therapies, which have a solid research base for anxiety disorders. In practice, this means working on the thoughts that come with anxiety — not to replace them with positive thinking, which does not work, but to examine them and test them against the facts — and gradually returning to situations you have been avoiding, at a pace you set and never by surprise.
Depending on what emerges, we may also work on breathing and on your relationship with physical sensations, on the place anxiety has in your history, or on what your circumstances and the people around you contribute to it. Therapy is not a protocol applied in the same way to everyone: it is built from what you bring.
How long it takes
There is no standard length. The most common rhythm is one session a week at first, then one every two weeks once things settle.
The length of therapy is not decided in advance: it depends on what brings you, how long it has been going on and what surrounds it. We review it together regularly, rather than letting therapy drift on without the question being asked.
The end of therapy is prepared: it is decided together, ahead of time, and never from one day to the next.
Fees and reimbursementFrequently asked questions
Can anxiety really be treated?
Anxiety disorders are among the most widely studied psychological difficulties, and psychotherapy has shown its value for them in a large body of research. That said, no individual outcome can be guaranteed: what happens depends on your situation, your history and the work you do. The aim of therapy is not to get rid of all anxiety, which would make no sense, but to regain some room for manoeuvre.
Do I need to take medication as well?
I am a psychologist, not a doctor: I do not prescribe or change any medication. This is a question to discuss with your GP (médecin traitant) or a psychiatrist. Psychological therapy can take place on its own or alongside medication, and neither rules out the other. If the question comes up during our work, I will encourage you to talk to a doctor.
Do I need a referral to book a session?
No. You can book directly, without going through a doctor. The same applies to Mon soutien psy, the scheme through which the French national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) covers some sessions with a psychologist: if you are insured in France, you can access it directly.
Will I have to face what frightens me from the very first session?
No. The first session is for understanding what brings you, not for exposing you to anything. When gradually working on avoided situations makes sense, it is prepared, decided with you and moves forward in steps you agree to. Nothing happens by surprise.
Do video sessions work for anxiety?
They work in many situations, and they make it possible to start when getting to an appointment is precisely what is difficult. Some parts of the work are better done in person, though. We discuss it together and can alternate depending on what is most useful.
Other areas of support
Book an appointment
An initial fifteen-minute phone call, with no commitment, lets us see whether my approach matches what you are looking for. If it does not, I will refer you to a colleague.