Anxiety Therapy Calgary | Living Well Counselling Services
Persistent worry is one of the most common reasons people seek counselling at Living Well Counselling Services, and it can present itself in many different forms. Some clients seek counselling support because their anxiety has become a constant presence in the background of everyday life. Other clients come after experiencing a panic attack, which can be so overwhelming. Sometimes clients start to notice that everyday activities that were once managed with ease have gradually become situations they avoid. Whatever has brought your anxiety to the surface, anxiety therapy in Calgary at Living Well can help you identify the factors that may maintain the cycle and to develop a healthier, more manageable relationship with it.
Our team has been delivering anxiety counselling since 2008, across multiple Calgary locations and online. Living Well has more than 15 therapists on staff, including Registered Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, and Certified Counsellors. All of our therapists have a Master’s degree and have additional training certifications. We offer a free 20-minute initial consultation to every new client so that you can speak with a therapist before committing to anything.
What Is Anxiety Disorder?
Anxiety becomes a disorder when it is disproportionate to the situation, persists over time, and begins to interfere with daily life. It is not a character flaw or a sign of weakness. Anxiety can produce both physical and cognitive symptoms. Physical symptoms can include a racing heart, tight chest, shortness of breath, and disrupted sleep. While cognitive symptoms can look like intrusive thoughts, excessive worry, and difficulty concentrating. Many people experience both physical and cognitive symptoms at the same time, and therapy focuses on addressing the connection between them.
Both past experiences and current stressors can influence how anxiety and related conditions develop and persist. In many cases, the patterns maintaining the cycle originally served a purpose and made sense in a particular context. Counselling provides an opportunity to examine these patterns with honesty and curiosity, helping you to understand their impact and develop more effective ways to respond, rather than trying to push through.
Types of Anxiety We Work With
Living Well counsellors are trained in the treatment of a broad spectrum of anxiety disorders, allowing us to adapt the therapeutic approach to each client’s unique presentation rather than a generic treatment protocol. The conditions our team sees most often include:
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), where worry is chronic and wide-ranging, shifting from one concern to another with little relief between them.
• Panic disorder, which involves recurrent panic attacks and the anticipatory fear that follows, often leading to avoidance of situations associated with the attacks.
• Social anxiety disorder, in which fear of judgment in social or performance situations significantly limits a person’s participation in daily life.
• Specific phobias, including fear of flying, medical procedures, heights, or other defined situations.
• Health anxiety, where preoccupation with illness becomes consuming despite reassurance from medical professionals.
• OCD-related anxiety, where intrusive thoughts and compulsive responses form a cycle that requires specific therapeutic tools to interrupt.
Many clients experience more than one anxiety related condition at the same time. Anxiety can also commonly occur alongside depression, and when this is your experience, treatment can address both concerns together. By taking a comprehensive and individualized approach, therapy can better reflect the way these challenges interact and affect daily life.
Therapy Approaches for Anxiety
No single therapeutic approach is effective to treat every form of anxiety. At Living Well, our therapists are trained in a range of evidence based therapeutic models of treatment, allowing every client to have a treatment plan tailored to fit their specific needs and goals. Effective therapy recognizes that each person’s experiences are unique. Rather than applying the same model of therapy to everyone, a skilled therapist works with you to identify the treatment plan and approach that best fits your specific needs, challenges and goals. Living Well therapists have training in modalities such as:
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most researched approaches for anxiety disorders. As a therapy for anxiety, CBT helps you identify the thought patterns and behaviours that maintain the cycle, examine whether they are accurate, and replace them with responses that are more grounded. CBT helps you build skills that transfer beyond the therapy room, and most clients notice meaningful change within a defined number of sessions.
EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is particularly effective when fear and persistent worry stem from specific traumatic experiences the brain has not fully processed. Living Well has EMDRIA-certified EMDR specialists. Using bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps the brain reprocess distressing memories and reduce their emotional charge.
DBT therapy (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) builds practical skills in distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT suits clients whose distress connects closely to emotional intensity or difficulty tolerating overwhelming feelings in the moment.
Your counsellor may also draw on mindfulness-based approaches, acceptance and commitment therapy, or somatic techniques depending on your specific situation. Treatment planning happens collaboratively in early sessions and shifts as the process unfolds.
Our Calgary Anxiety Therapists
Matching you with the right therapist matters as much as the therapy approach itself. Living Well has more than 15 practitioners on staff, including Registered Psychologists, Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, and Certified Counsellors. Many of our highly skilled therapists have significant post-graduate experience in treating persistent worry and fear-based conditions.
Several of our therapists have training in more than one therapeutic modality, allowing for flexibility and an adapted approach tailored specifically to meet your goals. This flexibility helps to ensure that treatment remains responsive to your goals and experiences rather than being limited to a single framework. Sessions are available in English, Mandarin, French, Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi. Counselling can also be covered under extended health plans depending on your insurer and your specific policy. Living Well therapists can assist you in determining the coverage you may have access to.
When you reach out for your free initial consultation, we match you based on availability, language preference, specialty, and insurance eligibility. If the fit is not right after the first session, we will ensure we find the right match depending on your needs and preferences.
Who Comes to Anxiety Counselling in Calgary
Clients come to Living Well for anxiety counselling in Calgary from all walks of life. Some have lived with persistent worry for years and seek counselling for the first time, while. Others are navigating a new period of elevated stress brought on by a major life transition, health concern, or a significant life event. Our clients include students, professionals, parents, and seniors, as well as newcomers to Canada who may benefit from working with a counsellor who speaks their language and understands their cultural background.
No referral is required to book, and no formal diagnosis is needed. If anxiety is affecting how you live, that is reason enough to reach out and speak with one of our therapists who can help you find a way forward.
What to Expect at Your First Session
The free initial consultation, available by phone or video, gives you the opportunity to describe what you have been experiencing, ask questions about how treatment works, and gauge whether the counsellor feels like a good fit. Many clients find that even this first conversation brings some relief, because they are no longer holding the problem entirely on their own.
Your first full session is typically more structured. Your counsellor will ask about your personal history, the challenges you have been experiencing recently, and what you hope to achieve through therapy. Together, you will begin to develop a treatment plan that reflects your goals and needs. Sessions are 60 minutes, providing time to explore concerns in depth and build practical tools and strategies for change. If depression is also a part of your experience, your counsellor will address it within the same course of care, recognizing the close relationship between anxiety and depression rather than treating them as entirely separate issues.
Anxiety Therapy at Multiple Locations and Online
Living Well has multiple offices in Calgary, located in Kensington and Inglewood. Online counselling is also available to clients anywhere in Alberta. Clients can attend whichever location is most convenient, and change locations if your circumstances shift. Online sessions use the same evidence-based approaches available in person and are equally effective for most presentations of the disorder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anxiety is a treatable condition, and counselling for it has a strong evidence base across several modalities. Treatment length depends on the type and severity of the condition and the approach being used. CBT for a specific anxiety condition often takes between eight and sixteen sessions, and a therapist helps you set clear goals so that both of you have a shared picture of what progress looks like. More complex situations may take longer, and you will work with your therapist to determine the best treatment plan, frequency and duration of therapy.
Many extended health benefit plans cover mental health services, and coverage typically depends on the credentials of the practitioner. Registered Psychologists and Social Workers qualify under most plans. We recommend checking your coverage before booking, and we can help you identify which of our team members fall under your eligible category.
Medication can reduce the intensity of symptoms, particularly in the short term, and some clients benefit from using it alongside counselling. Therapy works at a different level, addressing the thought patterns, beliefs, and behaviours that maintain the cycle. Research shows that counselling produces more lasting change over time, and for many presentations of this disorder, it is the most effective long-term approach. When a client is undergoing a pharmacotherapy approach, their counsellor coordinates with the prescribing physician to provide a collaborative approach.
Online counselling through Living Well follows the same therapeutic approaches available in our offices and serves clients anywhere in Alberta. Many clients find that online sessions are easier to attend consistently, and consistent attendance predicts good outcomes more strongly than the format of delivery. Booking an online appointment takes a few minutes, and switching between in-person and video sessions is straightforward if your circumstances change.
If persistent concern has been affecting your sleep, your relationships, your performance, or your ability to handle things that used to feel manageable, counselling is worth considering. Clients who seek support earlier in the process often have a shorter course of treatment, because the patterns have not had years to become entrenched. A free initial consultation with one of our counsellors is the simplest way to determine whether treatment is the right next step for you.
Find an Anxiety Therapist in Calgary
To book an appointment or ask about availability at any of our two locations, contact Living Well Counselling Services in Calgary