Anxiety Counselling in Calgary
Curio Counselling provides anxiety counselling in Calgary for persistent worry, overthinking, panic symptoms, social anxiety and chronic stress. Sessions are available in person at our Beltline office at 1414 8 St SW and online across Alberta. Our team includes Registered Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists and Canadian Certified Counsellors certified by the CCPA. Start with a free 20-minute consultation to talk through what you’re experiencing and find the right therapist fit.
Does Anxiety Feel Like This?
You don’t need a diagnosis, or even a name for what you’re feeling, before you speak with a counsellor. Many people arrive knowing only that worry or stress has started taking up more room than it should. If some of the experiences below sound familiar, this page is likely relevant to you.
Thoughts
- Worry that keeps running even when there’s nothing specific to solve
- Expecting the worst outcome before anything has happened
- Racing thoughts that make it hard to concentrate
- Intrusive thoughts you didn’t ask for and can’t easily set down
Physical experiences
- Muscle tension that doesn’t ease off at the end of the day
- Feeling worn out or fatigued without an obvious reason
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Sudden waves of intense fear or panic, sometimes out of nowhere
Behaviours
- Being short-tempered or irritable with the people around you
- Struggling to stay focused on work, study or conversations
- Repeating certain actions or mental checks to feel settled
- Holding back in social situations because of what others might think
These experiences overlap and show up differently for everyone. Talking with a Registered Psychologist or Canadian Certified Counsellor can help you make sense of your own pattern and what may be contributing to it. For a fuller list, see our guide to the signs of anxiety.
Anxiety Concerns We Help With
Anxiety rarely shows up in one tidy form, and counselling works best when it is matched to what you are actually dealing with. These are the anxiety concerns Curio therapists most often work with in Calgary. Naming yours is the first step, not a diagnosis.
Generalized anxiety and persistent worry
This is worry that runs most days, moves from one concern to the next, and is hard to switch off even when nothing is obviously wrong. It often brings racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, fatigue and disrupted sleep. Some people notice it fixes on health, work or relationships; for others it has no single focus. Curio therapists typically use CBT to work on the thinking patterns that keep worry going, combined with somatic techniques for the physical restlessness that comes with it. This concern is treated here, on our anxiety counselling service, rather than on a separate page.
Panic attacks and panic disorder
A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort that peaks within minutes, often with a racing heart, shortness of breath, trembling or a sense that something terrible is about to happen. When attacks recur and the fear of the next one starts shaping your choices, that pattern is what clinicians call panic disorder. Curio therapists work with panic using CBT, exposure-based work and somatic approaches. If panic attacks are the main concern, learn more about Curio’s panic disorder therapy in Calgary.
Social anxiety
Social anxiety is fear of social situations driven by the possibility of being judged, embarrassed or scrutinised by others. It can show up before a meeting, a class, a date or a phone call, and it often leads to holding back, over-preparing or avoiding altogether, which keeps the fear in place. In counselling, Curio therapists use CBT to examine the predictions behind the fear and gradual, planned exposure to test them in real situations, at a pace agreed with you. Social anxiety is treated within our anxiety counselling service in Calgary.
Phobias
A phobia is an intense fear of a specific object, situation or activity, out of proportion to the actual risk, that triggers anxiety or panic when you face it and drives you to avoid it. Common examples include flying, needles, driving, heights and animals. Curio therapists treat phobias with graduated exposure and CBT, and with EMDR where the fear traces back to a particular experience. If a specific fear is the main concern, learn more about Curio’s phobia counselling in Calgary.
Chronic stress and burnout
Stress is the body’s response to demand and pressure; burnout is what happens when that pressure continues with too little recovery for too long. Neither is an anxiety disorder, but chronic stress often sits alongside anxiety and can be hard to tell apart from it, which is why many people arrive at anxiety counselling for both. Curio therapists work with stress using CBT, ACT, mindfulness-based and nervous-system approaches. If workload, exhaustion or burnout is the main concern, learn more about Curio’s stress and burnout counselling in Calgary.
Anxiety also frequently overlaps with obsessive-compulsive concerns and with the after-effects of trauma. Both are treated at Curio on their own terms; see our OCD therapy and PTSD therapy pages if either fits your situation better. If a past event sits underneath your anxiety, our article on the link between trauma and anxiety explains how the two interact.
How We Treat Anxiety at Curio
There is no single best therapy for anxiety. The approach we use depends on what is driving yours, how long you have lived with it, and how your mind and body respond. Our Calgary therapists draw on the methods below, often blending more than one into a single plan, and your free consultation is where that plan starts to take shape.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety
CBT works on the link between what you think, how you feel and what you do. Curio uses it for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, health anxiety, excessive worry and panic attacks. Sessions are present-focused and goal-oriented: a typical one opens with a check-in, reviews the skills you practised since last time, and works on a specific thought pattern or situation. Between sessions you practise those skills through short homework assignments, so change happens in your week, not only in the room. CBT is offered by most of our anxiety therapists. Read more on our Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Calgary page, or compare CBT and DBT in our therapist’s guide.
Exposure-Based Approaches for Anxiety
Exposure work is a structured part of CBT for anxiety that avoidance keeps in place. Rather than steering around feared situations, you and your therapist build a gradual, planned sequence of facing them, starting where it feels manageable and moving forward at an agreed pace. For obsessive-compulsive concerns, the form used is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which pairs exposure with resisting the compulsion that usually follows. Curio therapists who list exposure therapy include Jordan Renz and John-Paul Morales. Exposure is never sprung on you; the plan is built together and adjusted as you go. Details sit on our CBT page.
Somatic Approaches for Anxiety
Anxiety is not only a thinking problem. Racing thoughts, muscle tension, disrupted sleep and panic symptoms all live in the body, and somatic work addresses them directly. Drawing on polyvagal-informed and body-based techniques, your therapist helps you notice how your nervous system responds under stress and practise grounding and regulation skills you can use when anxiety spikes. This is often combined with CBT so the cognitive and physical sides of anxiety are addressed together. Curio therapists who list somatic or polyvagal techniques include Meg Lindemulder, Angela Chieco, Kendall Seasons and Payton Setoguchi. For background, see how anxiety shows up in the body.
EMDR for Anxiety
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is used at Curio for anxiety and panic, phobias and performance anxiety, particularly where a specific experience or memory keeps the anxiety charged. Working through eight structured phases, you focus on the memory while your therapist guides bilateral stimulation, usually eye movements, taps or sounds, to reduce its emotional intensity. EMDR is not the right starting point for everyone; if you are in active crisis or experience significant dissociation, your therapist will spend longer on preparation first, or recommend a different approach. Megan Oviatt and Sanya Bhushan offer EMDR. Learn more on our EMDR in Calgary page.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for Anxiety
ART is used at Curio for anxiety and panic attacks, stress and burnout, phobias and sleep disturbance, often alongside trauma. It combines guided eye movements with visualization exercises to change how a distressing memory or image is stored, without requiring you to describe the experience in detail. Sessions are structured: you identify what you want to work on, your therapist guides the eye-movement sequences, and you work on replacing the distressing image with one you choose. Curio therapists offering ART include Jordan Renz, Renae Calder and Sanya Bhushan. See our Accelerated Resolution Therapy in Calgary page.
Not sure which approach fits? That is what the free 20-minute consultation is for. Tell us what anxiety looks like for you and we will match you with a therapist and a starting plan. Between now and then, our anxiety coping techniques article covers what you can try in the meantime.
What Happens When You Start Anxiety Therapy?
Explore Anxiety Counselling
Overcoming extreme anxiety necessitates a holistic approach. Our anxiety therapists work closely with you to craft a personalized treatment plan that delves into the root causes and equips you with coping strategies. Vital components of this process include identifying and challenging distorted thought patterns and gradually exposing yourself to anxiety-inducing situations.
While medication may be recommended in some cases, therapeutic interventions play a significant role in managing and overcoming anxiety without relying solely on medication. These therapeutic interventions encompass a diverse range of evidence-based techniques, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, exposure therapy, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Through these modalities, you’ll learn valuable skills to regulate your emotions, challenge negative thought patterns, and cultivate resilience in the face of anxiety triggers.
Embarking on the path of anxiety therapy represents a profound investment in your mental and emotional well-being. Our therapy sessions extend far beyond symptom management, offering a transformative journey toward a life where anxiety no longer holds sway over your every move. By choosing to explore anxiety therapy in Calgary, you’re not merely seeking relief from symptoms; you’re opening doors to a brighter future characterized by resilience, inner peace, and a renewed sense of purpose. Take this courageous step toward healing and empowerment today. Your journey awaits, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
Book a Free,
20 Minute Consultation
Whether you are considering accessing counselling services for the first time, or hoping to find a therapist who is new to you, we want to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.
That is why we offer a free, no-obligation, 20-minute phone or video consultation with the Calgary therapist of your choice.
Self-check
Common Signs of Anxiety
Anxiety shows up differently for everyone — in the body, the mind, emotions, and behaviour. Tick anything you've noticed lately. This is a quick awareness check, not a diagnosis, and there are no right or wrong answers.
Physical
Thoughts
Emotions
Behaviour
0 signs selected
Tick the signs you recognise above. Whatever you notice, talking it through with a therapist can help.
This checklist is for general awareness only and is not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for professional assessment. If you're in crisis or need immediate support, please call or text the Calgary Distress Centre at 403-266-4357 or visit your nearest emergency department.
Our Anxiety Therapists
All of our Calgary counsellors hold a Master of Counselling degree from an accredited university and are members in good standing with either the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) or the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP).
Counselling Rates in Calgary
Practitioner Type | Session Rate | Best For |
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) | $200 | Affordable Calgary counselling support |
Provisional Psychologist | $230 | Psychologist-led care with added supervisory oversight |
Registered Psychologist | $230 | Full psychologist services and insurance coverage* |
*We are able to direct bill for many companies, but coverage varies by insurance plan — most plans reimburse Registered Psychologists and many also cover CCCs and Provisional Psychologists. Check your benefits or ask us.
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The Safe Space
Our counselling spaces are designed to make you feel comfortable and safe. Upon entering a counselling room, you are welcome to choose whichever seat you would like. Feel free to put your feet up, drape a blanket over yourself, or even lie down.
Our Location in Calgary, AB
You can expect to be greeted by our receptionist, invited to take a seat in our waiting area, and offered a beverage.
Anxiety Therapy Calgary: Frequently Asked Questions
How much does anxiety therapy cost in Calgary?
Sessions at Curio Counselling cost $200 with a Canadian Certified Counsellor and $230 with a Provisional or Registered Psychologist. Your first step is free: a 20-minute phone or video consultation with the therapist of your choice, with no obligation to book further sessions.
Is anxiety counselling covered by insurance in Alberta?
Most extended health benefit plans reimburse sessions with a Registered Psychologist, and many also cover Canadian Certified Counsellors and Provisional Psychologists. We can direct bill many insurance companies. Coverage varies by plan, so check your benefits or ask us before your first session. Counselling fees may also qualify as a medical expense on your tax return.
What type of therapy works best for anxiety?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has the strongest research support for anxiety, but the best approach depends on what is driving yours. Our Calgary therapists also use EMDR, somatic therapy, and psychodynamic approaches, and often combine methods in one treatment plan. Your therapist will recommend an approach after your first session.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no fixed number. Many clients notice meaningful change within 6 to 12 sessions, while longstanding or more complex anxiety can take longer. You and your therapist review progress together as you go, and there is no minimum commitment.
Do you offer online anxiety therapy?
Yes. We offer secure video and phone sessions to clients anywhere in Alberta, along with in-person appointments at our Beltline office at 1414 8 St SW, Suite 200, Calgary. Evening and Saturday times are available for both.
Do I need a doctor's referral to see a therapist for anxiety?
No. You can book directly online or call us at 403-243-0303. A small number of insurance plans require a physician's referral for reimbursement, so it is worth checking yours, but nothing is needed to start therapy with us.
How do I know if it's anxiety or just stress?
Stress usually eases once the situation causing it passes. Anxiety tends to stick around, shows up without a clear trigger, and starts interfering with sleep, work, or relationships. If worry has been affecting your daily life for several weeks, a free consultation is a low-pressure way to talk it through with a therapist.
Can counselling help with panic attacks?
Yes. Therapy for panic focuses on two things: practical techniques to calm your body during an attack, and work on the underlying thought patterns and triggers so attacks become less frequent and less intense. CBT and gradual exposure are the most common approaches we use.
What happens in the first session?
Your first session is about getting comfortable and giving your therapist the full picture: what brings you in, how anxiety shows up for you, and what you want to change. Together you set goals and sketch out a treatment plan. You will not be pushed to share anything before you are ready.
Should I see a psychologist or a counsellor for anxiety?
Both are trained to treat anxiety, and all of our therapists hold a Master of Counselling degree. The practical differences are cost and insurance: psychologist sessions are $230 and reimbursed by most benefit plans, while Canadian Certified Counsellor sessions are $200 and covered by many plans. Fit with your therapist matters more than the title, which is why we offer a free consultation with any therapist you choose.
References & Further Reading
Anxiety Canada. (n.d.) Anxiety in Adults. https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-anxiety/anxiety-in-adults
Kelly, O. (2022, May 14). What are anxiety disorders? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/anxiety-disorder-2510539
Mayo Clinic (n.d.). Anxiety disorders. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety