Anxiety — Psychologist in Fremantle
What anxiety actually is
Anxiety is not just worry. It can show up as a persistent background hum of unease, a tightness in the chest that never fully goes, the urge to avoid situations that feel threatening, intrusive thoughts that will not switch off, or a sense that something is always about to go wrong — even when, on paper, things look fine.
Some anxiety is normal and useful — it is your nervous system doing its job. But when anxiety starts to shape your decisions, shrink your world, or exhaust you, it is worth addressing.
Anxiety can take many forms
Generalised anxiety: chronic worry across many areas of life, difficulty switching off Social anxiety: intense fear of judgement, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations Panic attacks: sudden episodes of intense physical and emotional fear — racing heart, breathlessness, dizziness, a sense of impending catastrophe Health anxiety: persistent fear about illness despite reassurance from doctors Specific phobias: intense, disproportionate fear of a particular situation or thing Anxiety connected to past experiences or trauma.
You may not fit neatly into any of these categories. Many people do not. What matters more than the label is understanding what is happening for you specifically.
How I work with anxiety
Anxiety tends to be maintained by avoidance. The more we avoid what frightens us, the more the fear grows. It is also often connected to particular ways of thinking — and to beliefs about ourselves and the world that developed much earlier in life.
I work with anxiety at both levels.
Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), we understand the thinking patterns that feed anxiety and build different responses to triggering situations. For some people, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is more useful — learning to relate to anxious thoughts differently rather than constantly fighting them.
Where anxiety feels old, pervasive, or resistant to shorter-term approaches, Schema Therapy can help us understand the underlying beliefs that are driving it — and begin to shift them at a deeper level.
The work does not follow a fixed script. We work with what you bring.
What sessions look like
In the early sessions, we build an understanding of your anxiety — how it developed, what maintains it, and what it is costing you. This is not a questionnaire process. It is a conversation.
From there, we work on making sense of what is happening and building a different relationship with it. The goal is not to eliminate anxiety entirely — some anxiety is healthy. The goal is to reach a place where it is no longer running your life.
Medicare and DVA
Psychology sessions for anxiety are covered under Medicare's Better Access initiative (with a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP) and DVA. Sessions. With a Medicare rebate, your out-of-pocket cost is approximately $118 per session.
0468 310 853 | admin@ftpc.com.au