Anxiety Therapy
When Anxiety Shows Up in Your Body, Talk Therapy Isn’t Always Enough
Online somatic therapy for anxiety for adults in Florida and Illinois that includes both mind and body
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Bringing the Body Into Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety can take over quickly. Your chest tightens, your stomach drops, your thoughts race, or you find yourself avoiding things you wish felt easier.
You may understand why you’re anxious and have tried different ways to manage it, yet your body still responds as though you’re in danger. Even when there’s no immediate threat, that feeling can be difficult to shake.
In our work together, we can talk about your life, relationships, and emotions while also paying attention to what’s happening in your body. As these responses arise, we can slow things down and explore them in manageable ways. This can help you build more capacity for stress and uncertainty, with greater flexibility and choice in how you respond.
Meet Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW, SEP
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner specializing in anxiety therapy for adults.
My work is grounded in Somatic Experiencing, with additional training in the Safe and Sound Protocol and Rest and Restore Protocol.
My own experience also informs the way I work. Understanding what was happening intellectually was helpful, but I began to notice a different kind of change when I started paying attention to what was happening in my body too.
I bring that perspective into my work with clients. I’m interested in understanding what anxiety is doing, what may be underneath it, and how your thoughts, emotions, body, and earlier experiences connect. I tend to be active and engaged in sessions, while also paying close attention to pacing and what feels workable for you.
How We Work Together
Sessions begin with whatever feels most important that day. You might want to talk about a difficult conversation, a stressful week, a relationship, or something that’s been bringing up more anxiety.
As we talk, I’m paying attention to patterns and the connections between your thoughts, emotions, and physical experiences. We often slow down and bring attention to what’s happening in your body, such as tightness in your chest, a knot in your stomach, tension, or an urge to move.
From there, we get curious about what you’re noticing. We might explore whether you can stay with a sensation in a manageable way, find more grounding or physical support, or follow an impulse to move, push against something, or allow another physical response. These are some of the ways we can work with anxiety as it shows up in the moment.
The somatic work is woven into conversation and emotional processing. Sometimes a sensation or response brings up an earlier memory or helps us recognize a familiar pattern. These connections can deepen our understanding of what’s happening in the present. And there’s room for levity and laughter along the way. Therapy doesn’t have to feel heavy all the time.
My Mind-Body Approach to Anxiety Therapy
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Somatic Experiencing: The foundation of my work, helping us work with how anxiety shows up in the body and the responses that can keep you tense, overwhelmed, or bracing for what might happen.
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A developmental lens: My background helps me understand how earlier experiences can continue to shape anxiety, relationships, and responses to stress and uncertainty.
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When appropriate, I may also integrate one of two music-based listening therapies, the Safe and Sound Protocol or the Rest and Restore Protocol, alongside our somatic work.
I also take a broader look at what may be contributing to anxiety, including physical health, sleep, daily habits, life circumstances, and medication experiences when they’re relevant. I write more about my approach to mental health, psychiatric medication, and informed choice here.
Looking Beyond the Symptoms
Anxiety isn’t always just about what’s happening today. The way you respond to stress, uncertainty, relationships, or feeling out of control may also be shaped by earlier experiences.
You don’t have to know exactly where your anxiety comes from or search for a particular memory. As we work with what is happening in your life now, earlier experiences and patterns often begin to make sense in new ways.
You may notice this in things like:
- Feeling tense or unable to relax even when things are going well
- Becoming overwhelmed more quickly than you would like
- Worrying about things you know you can’t control
- Feeling especially activated by conflict, uncertainty, or other people’s reactions
- Holding yourself back because something feels too risky or overwhelming
As these patterns become clearer, we can work with both what shaped them and how they show up in your mind and body now.
What Begins to Shift When Anxiety Softens
As we work together, you may begin noticing changes in how anxiety shows up and how quickly it takes over. You might catch yourself pausing before reacting, recover more quickly after stress, or find that situations that once felt overwhelming become more manageable.
But the changes aren’t always limited to feeling less anxious. As you develop more capacity to stay present with uncertainty, discomfort, and strong emotions, you may begin approaching parts of life differently too. Decisions that once felt too overwhelming may feel possible. You may speak up more freely, take meaningful risks, pursue things you want, or find yourself more willing to step into situations you might once have avoided.
This can create room for your life to become bigger. Not because anxiety disappears, but because it has less influence over what you believe you can handle and what you allow yourself to pursue.
Many people also notice greater steadiness in relationships, more confidence in their ability to navigate challenges, and a growing sense that they can meet what comes without organizing their lives around avoiding discomfort.
Online Anxiety Therapy in Florida and Illinois
I offer somatic therapy primarily, working with clients throughout Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach. Meeting virtually allows us to do this work from the comfort and privacy of your own space.
I am also licensed in Illinois and work with clients online in Chicago and across the state.
Anxiety Therapy FAQs
What is anxiety from a nervous-system perspective?
From a nervous-system perspective, anxiety involves both the mind and body. You might experience racing thoughts or worry alongside muscle tension, changes in breathing, restlessness, a sense of urgency, or difficulty settling.
Your nervous system responds to stress, uncertainty, relationships, and experiences based partly on what it has learned in the past. Sometimes those responses can become more intense or persistent than the present situation calls for.
In therapy, we’ll work with these responses as they arise, building greater capacity to experience anxiety and more flexibility in how you move through life.
How is somatic therapy different from traditional talk therapy for anxiety?
Talk therapy can include insight, emotional processing, coping strategies, and many other ways of working with anxiety. Somatic therapy brings additional attention to how anxiety is showing up in your body in real time.
Alongside talking about your thoughts, emotions, and experiences, we may slow down to notice tension, changes in breathing, sensations, impulses, or other physical responses. From there, we can work with what your body may need, whether that’s more support or grounding, movement, or another way of responding to what you’re noticing.
Including the body gives us another way to work with anxiety, particularly when insight and the strategies you’ve already learned haven’t been enough to create the change you’re looking for.
What kinds of anxiety do you help with?
I work with adults experiencing chronic worry, overthinking, panic, social anxiety, physical tension, nervous system overwhelm, and anxiety connected to stress, relationships, uncertainty, or earlier experiences.
Many of the people I work with understand their anxiety well but still find that it takes over in ways that are difficult to change. They may feel tense or overwhelmed, become reactive, shut down, or find themselves holding back from things they want to do.
How long do people usually work with you?
Most people notice some shifts within the first few months of weekly therapy. The timeline depends on what brings you to therapy. Some concerns may shift relatively quickly, while working with more complex or longstanding patterns can take a year or more.
I work with clients in weekly sessions, since consistency gives us the opportunity to build on what we’re doing from one session to the next.
My work isn’t focused only on reducing anxiety symptoms. We’re also building greater capacity and flexibility so you can respond differently to stress, relationships, and uncertainty, while having more room for growth, new experiences, and the things you want for your life.
Are sessions online or in-person?
I work with clients online throughout Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach. Somatic therapy can work very well online, and we can still pay close attention to what’s happening in your body as we talk.
I’m also licensed in Illinois and work with clients online throughout the state, including Chicago.
What is the cost of sessions?
Sessions are $200 for 55 minutes. I accept credit or debit cards, HSA, and Zelle.
I don’t accept insurance, but I can provide a superbill that you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) and Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP) may also be incorporated into therapy for an additional fee.
Anxiety Therapy That Supports Real Change
If you’re looking for anxiety therapy that includes both mind and body, I invite you to reach out and see if my approach might be a good fit for you.
Book a 10-Minute Consultation
