Panic Attack Therapist in New York & California

Panic attacks can feel sudden, overwhelming, and deeply unsettling—often arriving without warning and leaving a lingering sense of fear or uncertainty in their wake. For many people, the experience is both physically intense and emotionally disorienting, making it difficult to trust one’s body or feel safe in everyday situations. If you are exploring this page, you may be living with recurring panic attacks or the persistent fear of having another one. Panic attack therapy offers a space to understand what is happening beneath the surface and to work toward restoring a sense of stability and confidence. If you’re seeking panic attack therapy in New York or California, the information below can help you determine whether this support feels like the right next step.

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What Are Panic Attacks?

A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort, often accompanied by strong physical sensations such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest tightness, sweating, or a sense of losing control. These experiences can feel frightening and convincing—sometimes mimicking serious medical emergencies—which often leads people to seek urgent reassurance or avoid situations they associate with panic.

While panic attacks may appear to come “out of nowhere,” they are best understood as a nervous system response rather than a sign that something is fundamentally wrong with you. Panic reflects a system that has become sensitized to perceived threat, activating a fight-or-flight response even when no immediate danger is present.

For some individuals, panic attacks occur occasionally; for others, they become recurrent and shape daily life. Over time, fear of the panic itself can become central—leading to hypervigilance, avoidance, or a narrowing of activities and environments in an effort to stay safe.

Panic Attacks Therapy Support

Support for sudden surges of fear, intense physical sensations, fear of losing control, anticipatory anxiety, and patterns of avoidance related to panic attacks. Panic attacks therapy helps identify the emotional, relational, and nervous system dynamics that sustain the panic cycle—while supporting regulation, tolerance of bodily sensations, and renewed trust in your body.

Special Focus Areas

While panic attacks are experienced uniquely by each individual, certain patterns commonly emerge. Therapy may be helpful if you are experiencing:

Sudden episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, or chest discomfort.

Persistent worry about having another panic attack, often leading to hypervigilance or constant monitoring of bodily sensations.

Avoiding certain places, activities, or situations—such as driving, travel, crowds, or being alone—due to fear of panic occurring.

Heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations, where normal physical cues are interpreted as dangerous or catastrophic.

Experiences where panic attacks interact with chronic anxiety, low mood, emotional numbness, or burnout.

Ongoing concern that panic symptoms indicate an undiagnosed medical condition, despite reassurance.
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A Holistic, Somatic, and Psychodynamic Approach

Panic attacks do not exist only in thoughts—they live in the body, nervous system, and emotional history. My approach to panic attack therapy is holistic, somatic, and psychodynamic, meaning we explore how emotional experiences, relational patterns, and physiological responses interact to shape panic responses over time.

Rather than attempting to suppress panic or “fight” symptoms, therapy focuses on understanding the panic cycle and gently shifting the conditions that allow it to persist. This may include supporting nervous system regulation, increasing tolerance for bodily sensations, addressing unconscious emotional dynamics, and restoring a sense of internal safety and agency.

Therapy is collaborative and paced with care. Your experience guides the process, and together we work toward helping panic attacks lose their intensity and influence—so you can move through life with greater ease, confidence, and freedom.

Panic Attack Therapy in New York & California

I offer panic attack therapy for adults in New York and California. Whether panic attacks occur on their own or alongside anxiety, depression, or trauma, therapy can provide support tailored to your experience.

Begin Panic Attacks Therapy

If panic attacks are affecting your quality of life, you don’t have to navigate them alone. Therapy offers a space to understand your symptoms without judgment and to build a steadier relationship with your body and emotions. To get started, schedule a consultation or reach out to learn more about panic attack therapy in New York or California.

Your Panic Attacks Therapy Experience

Panic attacks therapy is a focused, collaborative process shaped around your lived experience. Sessions are guided by how panic shows up in your body, thoughts, and relationships, and by what feels most supportive at each stage of the work. Our work often explores the emotional, relational, and somatic dimensions of panic—helping episodes feel less overwhelming and more manageable over time. The aim is not to eliminate all anxiety, but to reduce panic’s hold so you can re-engage with your life more fully.

  • Sessions are 45 minutes, typically held once weekly.
  • Some individuals engage in shorter-term work, often three to six months, when focusing on panic symptoms and avoidance patterns.
  • Others choose longer-term therapy to explore deeper emotional or nervous system dynamics, continuing for as long as the work remains meaningful.
  • The pace and duration of therapy are always guided by your needs.

How Care Is Shaped

Effective panic attacks therapy depends on emotional safety, attunement, and respect for your nervous system. In my private practice, care is individualized rather than protocol-driven, with attention given to both symptoms and the broader emotional context in which panic developed.
Our work together is shaped by:

  • Your specific panic triggers and bodily responses
  • How panic is held in the nervous system
  • Emotional history and relational experiences
  • Your temperament, communication style, and pacing needs
  • A thoughtful integration of somatic awareness and psychodynamic exploration

The therapeutic relationship itself is central. Creating a space where you feel supported enough to explore panic without fear is an essential part of the process.

Support Between Sessions

Therapy is the primary space for working with panic attacks, though some people benefit from gentle, supportive practices between sessions. These are not intended to eliminate panic, but to support regulation and a sense of safety in daily life. Supportive practices may include:

  • Body-based or mindfulness practices focused on present-moment awareness
  • Gentle movement, such as yoga, approached without performance pressure
  • Time in nature to support nervous system settling
  • Slow, conscious breathing with an emphasis on extended exhalation
  • Nourishing movement, rest, and nutrition approached with consistency rather than rigidity

These practices are optional and explored with care. The intention is not to add more to your plate, but to support steadiness, confidence, and ease.