Anxiety therapy
When Anxiety Lives in Your Body, Talking About It Isn’t Always Enough
Online somatic therapy for anxiety in Florida and Illinois
When Anxiety Feels Like It Lives in Your Body
Anxiety therapy that includes the body can help when you feel on edge, flooded with worry, or stuck in a constant sense that something isn’t quite safe. When your nervous system stays braced, it’s hard to think clearly or trust yourself. This somatic approach helps your body come out of survival mode so you’re not relying on willpower alone.
Anxiety therapy with a mind-body focus goes beyond managing symptoms. Rather than only trying to change your thoughts, we create space for more steadiness, more capacity, and more choice in how you respond to your life.
My background in somatic therapy and nervous‑system work means we do more than manage symptoms; we help your mind and body learn what resiliency and healing actually feel like.
When Talk Therapy Hasn’t Been Enough
If you’ve done talk therapy before, you may have gained insight, tools, and support. But if anxiety still feels wired into your body, if your thoughts race, your chest tightens, and you can’t seem to just calm down, you’re not alone.
That doesn’t mean therapy didn’t work. It just means that anxiety isn’t only in your thoughts. It lives in your body, too.
A mind-body approach to anxiety therapy brings in this missing piece. By working with your nervous system, not just your mind, we help your body feel more regulated, grounded, and able to respond with choice instead of reactivity.
About Me
Hi, I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW.
I’m really glad you’re here.
I know how exhausting it feels when the pressures keep building and the stress you’ve managed starts to feel unmanageable. You’ve worked hard to hold it all together, but lately it’s taking more out of you.
The responsibilities, worry, and tension have left you stretched thin. It’s not just the exhaustion. It’s how much harder it is to think clearly, stay connected, or feel present in your own life.
You don’t have to keep pushing through alone. Together, we’ll work with what your mind and body are carrying so you can find more steadiness, clarity, and resilience.
You’ve built a life worth enjoying, and you deserve to feel stronger and more capable in it.
You’ve built a life worth enjoying, and you deserve to feel confident and in control.
Inside a Session: Anxiety therapy
No two sessions look exactly the same, because no two people are the same. Some days we may talk more and notice what anxiety feels like in your body. Other times we might bring in small, gentle practices, like pushing into your hands, a self-hug, or shifting your posture when your body needs something different.
We start wherever you are. You won’t be pushed into anything you’re not ready for. We move at your pace, using small steps so your nervous system can settle without becoming overwhelmed.
Even when we are talking, I stay attuned to how your body responds. Over time, these small shifts create real change, not just in how you think, but in how you feel and respond.
This work is gentle and powerful.
My Mind-Body Approach to Anxiety therapy
In anxiety therapy, I look at both the mind and the body, because real support needs to include both. We stay curious about what anxiety is connected to, including deeper emotional patterns, past experiences, and the ways your nervous system learned to respond over time. This is mind-body work that holds space for both regulation and depth.
Some parts of our work focus on the nervous system directly. Other parts focus on understanding the deeper patterns shaping anxiety.
Some of the ways we may approach anxiety together include:
Somatic Experiencing: We work directly with what anxiety feels like in your body while also exploring what it may be trying to communicate or protect.
Safe and Sound Protocol (Optional): Filtered music that gently supports your nervous system when anxiety keeps you on edge or makes connection feel harder.
Rest and Restore Protocol (Optional): Support when anxiety shows up as exhaustion, burnout, or that wired-but-tired feeling.
A developmental lens: Sometimes anxiety is shaped by earlier experiences. Together we bring awareness to those patterns so new responses become possible.
Integrative mental health support: We may also look at lifestyle factors like sleep, movement, nutrition, and daily rhythm that influence how your nervous system functions.
These approaches work together to support meaningful change without forcing quick fixes or overwhelming your system.
Understanding the Roots of Your Anxiety
Even when life looks okay on the outside, your nervous system may still be carrying patterns that developed earlier in your life.
Sometimes anxiety connects to past experiences, especially when stress, connection, or safety once felt unpredictable. We do not have to go searching for a specific story. If deeper patterns are present, they tend to emerge naturally as we work together.
You might notice patterns like:
• Constant worry about what others think
• Over-explaining or apologizing
• Feeling anxious when someone is upset with you
• Struggling to relax, even when nothing is wrong
• Reacting more strongly than a situation seems to call for
Together, we stay curious about what shaped these responses while also supporting your nervous system in the present, allowing you to respond with more steadiness, clarity, and choice.
What Begins to Shift When Anxiety Softens
As we do this work together, you may begin to notice subtle shifts.
Tension in your chest, jaw, or stomach may soften. Your body may feel less on edge, and moments that once felt overwhelming can start to feel more manageable. Instead of reacting automatically, you may find yourself pausing, sensing what you need, and responding with more choice.
At the same time, this work builds capacity. You may still feel strong emotions or activation, but they don’t take over in the same way. Your nervous system learns that it can move through intensity without shutting down, spiraling, or pushing through alone.
Many people notice a growing sense of steadiness in relationships and daily life. Thoughts slow down, energy becomes more available, and you may feel more connected to yourself while staying engaged with what matters.
Online Anxiety Therapy in Florida and Illinois
I offer somatic and integrative therapy primarily online, working with clients throughout Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach. Meeting virtually allows us to do deep nervous system work while you remain in the comfort and familiarity of your own space.
I am also licensed in Illinois and see clients online in Chicago and across the state.
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From a nervous-system perspective, anxiety is not just a thought pattern. It is a body response shaped by experience, stress, and how your system learned to protect you. You might notice tension, racing thoughts, shallow breathing, or a sense of urgency that feels hard to turn off.
In our work, we pay attention to how anxiety shows up physically and emotionally. Rather than pushing it away, we learn to understand what your nervous system is doing and help it find more steadiness and flexibility.
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Traditional talk therapy often focuses on thoughts, insight, or coping strategies. Somatic therapy includes those elements, but it also works directly with what happens in your body. We slow down enough to notice sensations, patterns of activation, and how your nervous system responds in real time.
This allows deeper patterns to shift, not just be understood. Many people come to this work after insight alone has not created the change they hoped for.
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Relief matters, and many people do feel less on edge as therapy progresses. At the same time, our work also builds capacity. Your nervous system learns how to move through strong emotions or activation without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down.
The goal is not to eliminate intensity from life. It is to help you feel more grounded, more choice in how you respond, and more able to stay present even when things feel challenging.
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I work with adults experiencing chronic worry, overthinking, social anxiety, panic, nervous system overwhelm, and anxiety that feels connected to past experiences or long standing stress patterns.
Many of the people I work with are thoughtful and high functioning. They may understand themselves well but still feel tension, reactivity, or exhaustion in their body. Our work supports both immediate regulation and deeper integration.
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There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, because every nervous system and every story of anxiety is different.
I work with clients in weekly sessions, since consistency is what allows your system to build trust and create lasting change. Some people who come in with a specific trigger notice important shifts within a few months. But many of the people I work with are carrying long-term stress, complex anxiety, or trauma, and they’re ready for deeper healing. For this kind of work, a year or more of consistent therapy is often where the real transformation happens.
During our time together, we’ll bring both mind and body into the process—working with your nervous system to reduce anxiety, and creating space for emotional processing, insight, and growth. This helps you not only find relief from anxiety symptoms, but also build resilience that stays with you long after therapy ends.
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I work primarily with clients online throughout Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach. Meeting virtually allows us to do deep nervous system work while you remain in the comfort and familiarity of your own space.
I am also licensed in Illinois and see clients online across the state, including Chicago.
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Sessions are $200 for 55 minutes.
Payment is due at the time of each session. I accept credit or debit card, HSA, and Zelle.
If you’re interested in adding the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) or Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP), these are offered as additional services with their own pricing. You can read more on the SSP page and RRP page, or we can talk together about whether either is a good fit for you.
Anxiety therapy FAQs
Anxiety Therapy That Supports Real Change
Anxiety can feel exhausting. You may be tired of the overthinking, the tension in your body, or the sense that you have to keep pushing through even when it takes so much effort.
In our work together, we don’t just try to quiet symptoms. We pay attention to how anxiety lives in your nervous system while also making space for the deeper patterns and experiences that shape how you respond to stress. The goal isn’t perfection or constant calm. It’s more steadiness, more choice, and more capacity when life feels intense.
Some people come with clear goals. Others arrive with a sense that something needs to shift. We begin with what’s present and build from there.
If you’re considering anxiety therapy, the next step is reaching out to schedule a brief consultation. We’ll talk about what you’re looking for and whether this work feels like a good fit.
I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner offering somatic and integrative anxiety therapy for adults in Florida and Illinois. I work with people who feel stuck in patterns of tension, overthinking, or nervous system overwhelm and want support that goes deeper than coping strategies alone.
I offer Somatic Experiencing and am a certified provider of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) and Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP), which may be included when appropriate. As a Certified Integrative Mental Health Provider (CIMHP), I also consider lifestyle, physiology, and whole-person wellbeing alongside nervous system work. Sessions are primarily online, with limited in-person availability in Delray Beach.