Therapy for Anxiety in Portland — Performance and Social Anxiety

Understanding Anxiety: Your Brain Is Trying to Help You (Even When It’s Not)

Anxiety is often misunderstood. If you’re looking for therapy for anxiety in Portland, you’re not alone — many people feel overwhelmed by worry, fear of judgment, or performance pressure. At its core, anxiety is your brain’s way of saying, “Something about this situation feels unsafe.” It’s not a flaw or weakness — it’s your body doing what it was designed to do: protect you.

In performance or social settings, that “threat” usually isn’t physical danger — it’s the fear of making a mistake, being judged, or losing your place in the group. But your body responds as if you were in real danger: your heart rate climbs, your muscles tighten, and your thoughts race.

When anxiety takes over, even simple actions — throwing a ball, giving a presentation, or speaking in front of others — can feel overwhelming. The good news: anxiety is workable. With the right tools, you can learn to perform, connect, and live more freely — even when anxiety shows up.

What’s Really Happening in Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety appears when your brain misinterprets pressure as danger. The harder you try to not feel anxious, the more tense and self-conscious you become — and performance suffers.

Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Skills, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), I help clients learn how to move with anxiety instead of fighting it.

Together, we work to:

  • Understand what triggers your anxiety and how your body responds
  • Identify behaviors that unintentionally keep anxiety in control
  • Build grounding and focus skills to stay present under pressure
  • Gradually re-engage with performance situations so they start to feel safe again

When you can relate differently to anxious thoughts and sensations, your body can perform with more ease, flexibility, and confidence.

The “Yips” and Other Performance Blocks

Licensed therapist in Portland, OR, specializing in anxiety, performance anxiety, and social anxiety

If you’ve experienced the yips — that sudden, frustrating breakdown of a once-automatic skill — you know how disorienting it can feel.
It’s not random, and it’s not a sign that something’s wrong with you. The yips are a form of performance anxiety — your brain’s well-intentioned but unhelpful attempt to protect you from perceived threat.

In therapy for the yips, we explore how this cycle works:

  1. A skill breaks down
  2. Fear and self-criticism increase
  3. The body tightens and over-controls
  4. Performance worsens
  5. The brain codes the skill as unsafe

We use mindful awareness, external focus, and gradual exposure to retrain your brain’s response. The goal isn’t to eliminate fear — it’s to perform confidently alongside it.

Whether you’re a baseball player, musician, or professional performing under pressure, therapy can help restore trust in your body and unlock smoother, freer performance.

Therapy for Social Anxiety

Social anxiety operates through a similar mechanism — the brain’s fear of social rejection or exclusion. You might find yourself avoiding conversations, replaying interactions, or feeling “on display” in groups.

In therapy, we will:

  • Explore how social anxiety shows up in your body and thoughts
  • Gently challenge patterns of avoidance and self-criticism
  • Practice exposure and mindfulness skills to help you feel grounded and authentic in social situations

Our goal isn’t to become fearless — it’s to live and connect meaningfully, even when anxiety is present.

My Approach

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist offering therapy for anxiety in Portland, OR, I take an integrative, evidence-based approach to anxiety treatment.

My background as a former college athlete and baseball coach informs how I work with clients on performance-related anxiety — but these same tools apply broadly to athletes, performers, professionals, and anyone who feels limited by worry or self-doubt.

I view anxiety as something we can understand, respect, and work with — not something to eliminate. Together, we’ll focus on awareness, skill-building, and values-driven action, so you can live and perform with greater confidence and freedom.

Quick Answers: Common Questions About Anxiety Therapy

What are “the yips”?
The yips are a sudden breakdown of a familiar skill — often caused by performance anxiety. They’re not a disease or defect, but a sign that your brain has started treating a routine action as unsafe. Therapy helps retrain that response so your body can perform freely again.

Can therapy really help with performance anxiety?
Yes. By understanding anxiety’s purpose and using exposure-based methods, clients often find they can perform at a high level again — not because anxiety disappears, but because they’ve learned to move skillfully with it.

Is anxiety therapy right for me if I’m not an athlete?
Absolutely. While I specialize in performance-based anxiety, the same principles apply to anyone who experiences worry, perfectionism, or social fear that limits daily life.

Take the Next Step

If you’re ready to work on anxiety — whether it shows up in performance, social situations, or daily life — therapy can help you develop the tools to respond differently.

I offer individual therapy for adults and teens in Portland, Oregon, both in person and online throughout Oregon.

If this approach resonates with you, and you’re seeking therapy for anxiety in Portland, OR, I invite you to reach out and schedule a consultation. Together, we’ll work toward helping you feel grounded, confident, and free to perform — not by eliminating anxiety, but by changing your relationship with it.