Anxiety Treatment in NC
Therapy and Medication for Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, Performance Anxiety, and Anxiety due to Trauma
Anxiety
You don’t have to live your life constantly worrying about every action you or your loved ones take.
Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, OCD, phobias, and panic disorder, are common but manageable. While anxiety is a natural response to stress and life transitions, it doesn’t have to control your life.
Our goal is to help you understand how anxiety affects your mind and body, while also equipping you with tools to create a meaningful life. For many, a combination of therapy and medication proves highly effective. Moreover, this approach is safe at any stage of life, including pregnancy and breastfeeding. Be reassured that we offer tailored support for those navigating these unique periods.
Not All Anxiety Is the Same — That’s Why Your Treatment Shouldn’t Be Either
Anxiety can look very different from person to person. For one person, it might show up as racing thoughts and physical tension before a presentation. For another, it’s a constant, nagging worry that never quite goes away. Sometimes, it’s a trauma response. Other times, it’s obsessive thinking, health fears, or even perfectionism masked as productivity.
That’s why we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all treatment plans. At Joy Spring Mental Health, we start with a comprehensive assessment that helps us truly understand what type of anxiety you’re experiencing and what’s driving it.
We take time to explore:
Whether your anxiety is situational (like performance or social anxiety)
If it’s rooted in trauma, learned patterns, or unresolved stress
If obsessive thoughts and rituals may indicate OCD
Whether your symptoms are tied to hormone shifts, medical conditions, or lifestyle factors
How your anxiety affects your body, relationships, sleep, and overall functioning
When we understand the full picture, we can create a treatment plan that actually works—not just in the short term, but for the long haul.
Medication, Therapy, or Both? We Help You Make the Right Call
Some types of anxiety respond best to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Others improve with trauma-informed care, exposure therapy, or somatic work. In many cases, medication can play a key role in reducing symptoms enough to make therapy more effective.
But it all depends on what’s underneath the anxiety.
We’ll help you:
Understand what treatment approach makes the most sense for your symptoms
Explore medication options that are safe, effective, and tolerable (with no pressure)
Work through avoidance, perfectionism, or intrusive thoughts using evidence-based therapy
Combine therapy and medication in a thoughtful, coordinated plan if needed
This is collaborative care—with you at the center. We want you to feel confident in your treatment plan and empowered by your progress.
Real Healing Starts with a Thorough Understanding
Many people come to us after trying quick-fix solutions that didn’t last. They were prescribed medication without a full evaluation. Or they were in therapy, but no one ever explained what type of anxiety they were dealing with or why certain strategies weren’t working.
We do things differently.
We rule out medical causes (like thyroid issues, hormonal shifts, or nutrient deficiencies) that can mimic or worsen anxiety.
We take time to understand your full mental health history, including trauma, life stressors, and co-occurring conditions like ADHD or depression.
We help you track progress in meaningful ways—not just fewer panic attacks, but more peace, more energy, and more connection to the life you want.
Our goal isn’t just to help you function—it’s to help you thrive. With the right plan, you can stop living around your anxiety and start living your life.
Anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum
When you become a parent, it’s like delivering the baby… and a 10lb bag of anxiety. If it feels like that bag is heavier than 10 lbs, you might benefit from help in managing your anxiety. How can you tell?
Anxiety is a natural response to situational stressors, and the transition to parenthood is full of them—even if you have an uncomplicated and healthy pregnancy and delivery. There’s so much to learn, less sleep, body changes, and the cultural pressure to get it all right without help while looking good and smiling. (That pressure alone can be a major stressor and anxiety producer!)
Postpartum Anxiety Treatment in NC
Anxiety during pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting can manifest in several different ways. It may include generalized anxiety (uncontrollable and unnecessary worry about routine things), specific phobias, intrusive thoughts or images (ranging from mild to postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder), and social anxiety. Postpartum anxiety can be especially tricky to recognize because it often feels so common, “normal,” and expected that it is brushed off or ignored until it becomes more problematic. Postpartum anxiety doesn’t discriminate—both parents can be affected.
How can you tell if your anxiety is on the spectrum of routine adjustment and love and care for your child or something more?
If your anxiety is interfering with your ability to function—whether it’s eating, sleeping, working, playing, or maintaining relationships—or if it is preventing you from enjoying these aspects of your life, it’s time to seek help! Safe and effective treatment options for perinatal anxiety are available to clients in NC and VA, ensuring care for both mom, dad, and baby.
Treating Postpartum (or any parental) Anxiety Doesn't just help the Parents
For parents experiencing anxiety, the physical symptoms can be overwhelming—stomach upset, racing heart, nausea, decreased appetite or comfort eating, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, and fatigue. Additionally, intense fear and worry may lead them to withdraw or avoid situations, which is the brain’s preferred method of coping with anxiety. Postpartum anxiety often prevents parents from being present, enjoying, and even remembering their time with their children. It can also rob them of the joy they should experience during self-care time. (Yes, self-care time is essential!) Untreated postpartum anxiety can persist for YEARS. Although we refer to it as “postpartum anxiety,” it often develops before pregnancy and intensifies during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Postpartum anxiety isn’t just damaging for the parent—it also affects the child. Research consistently shows that infants and children whose parents experience anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period are at an increased risk of developing their own anxiety symptoms and disorders. However, treating a parent’s anxiety has been shown to reduce this risk and improve anxiety in children well into their school years.
Treatments
Therapy
Answers to Your Questions about Mental Healthcare
General Mental Health Basics
We offer both as my schedule allows. In general, we have more availability for medication appointments. If you are interested in both and our therapy slots are full, we will help you connect with another therapist while we manage your medication.
This will be determined during your intake appointment. Brief appointments are ideal for time-limited specific concerns or for clients who are stable and transitioning out of recurring therapy or have already been in recurring therapy in the past. It is also helpful for clients who have challenging schedules or financial concerns that do not accommodate recurring therapy.
No! we see young adults and young-at-heart adults from diverse backgrounds. We have additional training and experience working with the college health and perinatal mental health populations but you do not have to identify with those groups to receive care.
We do not at this time.
Depression, anxiety, social anxiety, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, ADHD (with non-stimulants only)
No. Our services are offered predominantly through telehealth and I do not prescribe any controlled substances.
Yes. Clients who live locally, may request an in-person appointment.
Yes. We know how challenging juggling all these responsibilities can be and we will make a plan that will help you succeed all aspects of your life-including academic life.
Maternal Mental Health Basics
Perinatal refers to the period of pregnancy and one year after childbirth. Because we know that mood and anxiety symptoms can occur at any time during the reproductive years, we find maternal mental health to be a better term to describe what we treat but both are often used interchangeably. Some moms don’t seek care until their kids are already in school, and they are welcome too! And for many moms, their symptoms start before they ever consider pregnancy.
We welcome clients dealing with the difficulties of pregnancy preparation, childbirth, adoption, pregnancy loss, and early parenting in whatever time-frame is meaningful and necessary to them.
For patients receiving medication management, we send a treatment summary letter after every medication adjustment. Additionally, your obstetrician is welcome and encouraged to consult with us as needed.
PMADs (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders) include depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and insomnia.
Depression, anxiety, social anxiety, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, ADHD (with non-stimulants only)
No. Our services are offered predominantly through telehealth and we do not prescribe any controlled substances.
Yes. Clients who live locally, may request an in-person appointment.
Yes. we know how challenging juggling all these responsibilities can be and we will make a plan that will help you succeed all aspects of your life-including academic life.
College Mental Health Basics
No, we see young adults who are entering the workforce without additional schooling, in community college, and who have already graduated. Each transition has its own challenges and we enjoy working with adults in any of these phases. College students often have a more difficult time accessing care so we provide additional information on my site for this group.
The majority of our patients are 45 or younger. This is because for our purposes, we work with clients who are entering adulthood and the challenges that occur with the challenges of adulthood and this happens at different ages for everyone.
No. As an adult, you are legally responsible for your own mental health and you will have to sign a release of information designating who you are allowed to share information with (this is a federal HIPAA policy). We do require that every patient have an emergency contact on file. Also, if you choose to use insurance and you plan to submit your Superbill to your insurance for out-of-network reimbursement and you are on your parent’s insurance, they will receive notice of this. Also, because if we are an out-of-network provider for your plan, you may have your parents cover the cost of their appointments.
No, your information is still protected (other than billing which will include a diagnosis code).
Only if that is your preference. Our initial appointments are always with the patient only so that we can discuss this in detail. If you would like to have a parent attend at the end of the appointment or at future appointments, we will make arrangements for this. This applies to medication appointments.
You are welcome to share information but please note that any information you share will shared with the patient. We do not schedule appointments with parents without the patient present.
No. Your information is legally protected by HIPAA regulations.
No. We do not evaluate or train animals. If you have had at least 3 appointments and we can provide a statement of your diagnosis and that you find your pet to be helpful. This letter does not provide any legal requirement that your landlord must follow. We will not submit any additional documentation for this purpose and you will need to sign a release of information for this letter.
Our first appointment is a comprehensive assessment and we will review the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. In most situations, if you are experiencing ADHD symptoms and mood symptoms, treating the mood symptoms first is recommended and then we will reassess ADHD symptoms. We are not able to provide diagnostic testing for learning disorders. We do not prescribe controlled substances. If you have a previous diagnosis or suspect ADHD and are interested in stimulant medication (Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, etc), you will want to work with another provider. We do prescribe non-controlled medications for ADHD and work with you on skill development for management of ADHD symptoms.
No. We do not prescribed controlled substances. For many reasons, I recommend a different plan of care.
No problem! This is common. You can schedule your appointment online and we will make sure you understand how to access medication services.
The transition to parenthood of an adult child is a developmental task as well. Our goal is to help our clients learn how and when to set safe and healthy boundaries and also learn how to advocate for themselves and communicate effectively. We provide a summary and care plan (often including handouts) at every visit and you may want to ask the patient to share this information with you. We also provide education at every visit so your family member should be able to share as they are comfortable. We provide the care to our clients that we would want our children and (and myself) to receive and we take this responsibility very seriously.
What to expect for Virtual Appointments
Yes, in order to provide effective care, we must be able to see you. You are not required to use your camera for asynchronous classes.
No, you will need to reschedule. Please be aware there is a cancellation fee for appointments not cancelled within 24 hours.
The best feature of having a virtual appointment option is the convenience! Come as you are, baby drool, messy house, and all. You must be clothed (shirts required, and you may not be using mind altering substances during your appointment.
You will be able to access your appointment from any device with internet and a camera. Due to state licensing regulations, you must be in NC or VA at the time of your appointment. Please try to give yourself a quiet and private place. (Some patients find their vehicles (parked-not driving!) or bathroom to be great escape locations for their appointment.
Practice Policies for clients seeking 1-on-1mental healthcare
Yes, we will collaborate with your individual therapist.
No. Due to the boundaries established by the DEA system, providers cannot prescribe controlled substances to patients they have not initially seen in person. It is anticipated that the COVID pandemic exception will expire. That said, we have many modalities that are safe and effective and provide a long-term solutions so that controlled substances may not be necessary. We are committed to helping patients connect with their best-selves (which involves the courageous exploration of a values-driven life, rather than avoidance and symptom management).
Yes. Please plan to sign a release of information so we can communicate with your medication provider as needed.