Therapy office for anxiety treatment in Berkeley, CA — Jacob Donnelly, LCSW

If worrying this much was solving your problems, you wouldn't be on this page.

Anxiety Therapy in Berkeley


Your anxious mind is doing too good a job of trying to protect you.

The overthinking, the planning for every worst case, the harsh inner critic, they all started as ways to keep you safe and keep you ahead. For a while, they probably worked.

The problem is when they take over. They drain the energy and motivation you need for the very things you were worried about in the first place, and leave you stuck in worry, avoidance, and self-criticism instead of moving forward.

  • Overthinking every decision and replaying conversations

  • Holding yourself to impossible standards

  • Procrastinating, then criticizing yourself for it

  • Feeling wired and exhausted at the same time

You're ready to push yourself without punishing yourself.

How therapy works

Skills for the moment, insight for the long run.

My approach combines practical skills with a deeper look at where the patterns come from. On the skills side, I draw on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and DBT tools to work directly with anxious thoughts and reactions, and to help you settle your nervous system in the moment, instead of being run by it.

Alongside that, we explore what's underneath. The self-criticism, the over-accommodating, the belief that the worry is the only thing keeping you on track. Understanding where those patterns come from is what lets real change hold, instead of just white-knuckling your way to the next deadline.

Some people want concrete tools and homework. Others mostly want to be understood. Most want both, in different measures at different times, and we'll find the mix that fits you. You don't have to figure it out alone.

Therapy for anxiety can help you…

  • Quiet the overthinking

  • Stop being your own harshest critic

  • Stop avoiding what matters to you

  • Feel steadier without needing to numb out

Calming plant in the Berkeley office where Jacob Donnelly, LCSW provides anxiety therapy

COMMON QUESTIONS

Anxiety therapy in Berkeley

Worry doesn't have to run your life.