Anxiety Therapy in Calgary | NU Psychology

The Weight of Living with Anxiety

Anxiety can feel like carrying an invisible backpack filled with “what ifs. should, and looping thoughts” With the right support, the grip on anxiety can lessen and create space for calm, clarity, and connection. Our Calgary psychologists specialize in anxiety therapy for adults, teens, and couples, providing compassionate care and evidence-based strategies that help you move forward.

What Anxiety Really Feels Like

Anxiety can show up in many forms. Sometimes it shows up as high performance on the outside but constant stress on the inside. Other people feel it physically and may be exhausted, restless, or on edge. For others, anxiety can appear as irritability, overthinking, physical tension, or trouble sleeping. Whether anxiety is subtle or overwhelming, it can interfere with relationships, work, school, and the way someone experiences the world.

Common signs of anxiety include:

  • Racing thoughts you can’t switch off

  • Chest tightness, shortness of breath, or a pounding heartbeat

  • Avoiding situations that trigger worry or fear

  • Overthinking conversations or replaying events

  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep

  • Restlessness, irritability, or feeling “on edge”

  • Muscle tension, headaches, or digestive discomfort

  • Trouble focusing or difficulty concentrating on tasks

  • Feeling easily overwhelmed by responsibilities

  • Constant need for reassurance or checking behaviours

If worry is shaping how you think, connect, and live, therapy can help you reset the pattern and regain balance.

Types of Anxiety Disorders Our Psychologists Treat

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder can feel like fear strikes out of nowhere. Sudden waves of dizziness, nausea, or heart palpitations leave you bracing for the next episode. At NU Psychology, our Calgary psychologists use CBT and exposure techniques to help you reduce avoidance, manage panic symptoms, and regain a sense of safety.

Social Anxiety

Do you find yourself dreading social events, replaying conversations in your head, or worrying about being judged? Social anxiety can make everyday interactions exhausting. Our team provides social anxiety therapy in Calgary, helping you build confidence, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and create more ease in relationships.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

If you feel like your brain never shuts off, you may be living with GAD. This type of anxiety shows up as constant worry about everyday responsibilities — work, health, family, finances — leaving you restless and drained. Our psychologists use CBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based approaches to help you calm your body and mind, improve focus, and reclaim your energy.

Specific Phobias

Fear of flying, medical appointments, driving, or animals can hold you back from opportunities and experiences. Specific phobias are highly treatable. At NU Psychology, we use exposure and response prevention (ERP) and supportive coping strategies to help you face fears gradually and safely.

No matter how anxiety shows up for you, your experience is real — and treatable.

The NU Psychology Difference for Anxiety Counselling in Calgary

Choosing the right psychologist matters. At NU Psychology, we combine clinical expertise with genuine care to make therapy effective and approachable.

  • Specialized Anxiety Support – Our Calgary psychologists provide a tailored approach to anxiety. We treat generalized worry, panic attacks, social anxiety, or phobias. Our therapists are specialized in providing anxiety therapy in different modalities.

  • Evidence-Based Methods – We use proven approaches such as CBT, ACT, ERP, Narrative Therapy, and Mindfulness. Each psychologist at NU has specialized training in different modalities, allowing us to match clients with the right approach for their needs.

  • Strength-Based Approach – We see anxiety as a pattern, not a personality. Our Calgary Therapists focus on helping you uncover resilience, build coping skills, and restore balance without judgment.

  • Online Counselling Across Alberta – Not in Calgary? We provide secure online anxiety therapy across Alberta, including Edmonton, Red Deer, and rural communities.

  • Flexible Scheduling – NU Psychology offers evening and weekend appointments to make therapy more accessible for professionals, students, and families.

  • Convenient Calgary Location – We are located in Killarney, serving communities such as Aspen Woods, West Springs, Cougar Ridge, Westgate, Wildwood, Lakeview, Mount Royal, and Signal Hill. We are conveniently located near Stoney Trail SW, making NU easily accessible from most Calgary neighbourhoods.

All services at NU are provided by registered or provisionally registered Psychologists in Calgary, regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists.

How Our Calgary Psychologists Treat Anxiety

At NU Psychology, we provide specialized anxiety counselling that is evidence-based, practical, and designed to fit your unique needs. Our Calgary psychologists use proven approaches, including:

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – A gold standard for anxiety treatment. CBT helps you identify and challenge unhelpful thought patterns, break the cycle of avoidance, and replace fear-driven habits with healthier coping strategies.

  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Builds psychological flexibility by teaching mindfulness skills, acceptance of difficult emotions, and alignment with your core values. ACT is especially effective for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and life transitions.

  • Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) – Considered the frontline treatment for OCD and phobias, ERP helps you gradually and safely face triggers while reducing the urge to engage in compulsive behaviours. Over time, ERP retrains your brain to respond with calm instead of fear.

  • Narrative Therapy – Supports you in separating anxiety from your identity. By reframing your story, you can see anxiety as something you experience rather than something you are. This approach restores agency, resilience, and hope.

  • Mindfulness & Regulation Tools – Grounding exercises, breathwork, and relaxation strategies that can be applied in daily life. These skills reduce physical symptoms of anxiety like racing heart, shallow breathing, and tension.

  • Strength-Based, Collaborative Approach – At NU, therapy is never one-size-fits-all. We tailor your treatment plan to your personality, goals, and stage of life, always focusing on your strengths and capacity for change.

By combining these approaches, our psychologists help clients with panic disorder, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, health anxiety, and performance anxiety. Whether you’re a student struggling with exams, a professional facing burnout, or someone managing long-term worry, we create a plan that helps you reclaim peace of mind..

At NU, therapy is always strength-based, collaborative, and tailored to your unique learning style, personality and goals.

Anxiety Therapy FAQs

  • If anxiety interferes with your daily life — work, school, relationships, or health — it’s worth seeking help. You don’t need to wait until it feels “unmanageable” to benefit from therapy.

  • Yes. Common symptoms include chest tightness, elevated heart rate, muscle tension, headaches, stomach issues, dizziness, and fatigue. Therapy teaches regulation skills to reduce these sensations.

  • Stress is usually tied to external pressures; anxiety can persist even when pressures ease. Therapy addresses both the triggers and the ongoing worry cycle.

  • Symptoms may ebb and flow, but without support they often return. Evidence-based therapy (CBT, ACT, ERP) helps create lasting change.

  • A mix of biology, learning history, and life stressors. Treatment focuses on what’s changeable now: thoughts, behaviours, avoidance patterns, and coping skills.

  • Yes. We offer secure online sessions for clients across Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and rural Alberta.

  • Most extended health plans cover sessions with a Registered Psychologist. We provide receipts for reimbursement; coverage varies by plan.

  • Book online or contact our office. We’ll match you with a psychologist who specializes in anxiety therapy.

Evidence-Based Anxiety Counselling in Calgary

Our Calgary psychologists offer anxiety therapy to help manage the cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges. Anxiety counselling at NU Psychology combines evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Exposure Therapy. We support individuals dealing with everyday stress stress as well as panic disorder, social anxiety, phobias, and generalized anxiety. Contact us to schedule a consultation or book online.