Anxiety Treatment in

Orange County, California

One in five adults in the United States meets criteria for an anxiety disorder in any given year. Additionally, about one in three will experience such a condition at some point in life, according to national mental health surveys.^{1, 2}

The term “anxiety” refers to a cluster of related mental health diagnoses with overlapping features of worry, fear, avoidance, and physical tension. It is commonly used interchangeably with generalized anxiety disorder. But many other forms of anxiety (like social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and illness anxiety) can be as equally debilitating.

A Better Life Recovery is a mental health and addiction treatment facility in the beautiful San Juan Capistrano. We offer comprehensive anxiety care under a board-certified psychiatrist with a multidisciplinary team.

You’ll engage in evidence-based therapies tailored to your needs with 24/7 clinical support. If you think you’re in need of anxiety treatment, contact us for your free, confidential assessment.

This page can help you better understand the anxiety treatment programs we offer by discussing:

The different anxiety disorders we treat
Our approach to treatment
How treatment tackles a dual diagnosis of anxiety and addiction
Who our team consists of
What to expect during treatment
How to manage the insurance and admissions process
Answers to FAQs on anxiety treatment

- The types of depression we treat
- How we approach depression treatment
- What dual diagnosis treatment involves
- Who our treatment team consists of
- What to expect in treatment, including the insurance and admissions process
- Answers to frequently asked questions about depression treatment

Anxiety Disorders We Treat

Anxiety is classified into several diagnoses by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), based on the type and duration of symptoms.³ We treat all of these recognized diagnoses, including:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is a state of excessive, hard-to-control worry about multiple different things in life occurring more days than not for at least six months. It also has physical symptoms, such as restlessness, muscle tension, fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, or sleep disturbances.

Panic Disorder

This includes recurrent, unexpected panic attacks due to sudden surges of intense fear. During a panic attack, you experience physical symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or palpitations. These are typically followed by concern about future attacks or changes in behavior to avoid them.

Social Anxiety Disorder

This causes fear or anxiety about social situations where scrutiny by others is possible. Therefore, it leads to the avoidance of public gatherings. Symptoms must persist for six months or longer for it to be recognized as a disorder.

Specific Phobias

Phobias are strong fears of a particular object or situation, such as heights, animals, flying, or enclosed spaces. In these situations, the reaction to fear is out of proportion to actual danger.

Agoraphobia

This is defined by anxiety about being in places from which it may be hard to escape, such as crowds or public transportation. The fear of getting no help makes people avoid such settings.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

This is characterized by excessive fear of being apart from attachment figures for at least six months. The attachment figure could be a parent or partner.

Selective Mutism

A consistent inability to speak in specific social situations despite being able to speak up in others. It is not explained by language ability or another communication disorder.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Also known as hypochondria, this causes a persistent preoccupation with having a serious illness when there are no symptoms of a disease. The health-related anxiety continues despite medical reassurance.

In addition to these diagnoses, any type of anxiety may co-occur alongside a problematic use of alcohol or drugs. This is known as dual diagnosis. It is treated differently from an anxiety disorder alone.

A Better Life Recovery treats anxiety disorders through evidence-based medicine based on decades of published research, clinical consensus, and FDA-approved approaches. The treatment modalities we use have shown real-world effectiveness.

Our Anxiety Treatment Approach

Our approach to anxiety treatment consists of a psychiatric assessment upon which a diagnosis is made. Specific to your diagnosis, we narrow down a set of treatment modalities and formats that make up your day in our residential treatment facility.

Depending on your diagnosis, the following approaches can be modified to suit your needs.

Psychiatric Care and Medication Management

When you walk into the A Better Life Recovery clinic, the first thing you’ll undergo is a detailed mental health assessment under a board-certified psychiatrist. In this intake interview, we’ll ask you about:

The physical symptoms you’ve been experiencing
Your emotional states
Any prior treatments you’ve taken and your response to them
Any current medications you’re taking
Your sleep patterns
Your substance use history
Other medical factors that may influence our treatment decisions

If you are taking medications, the psychiatrist, in coordination with a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, might adjust them according to the latest guidelines. Medication management allows us to monitor your body’s response to the drugs and track your symptoms to see if you’re seeing a positive change.

Our on-site, board-certified psychiatrists lead your psychiatric care and remain actively involved throughout treatment.

Evidence-Based Therapies for Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most researched mental health conditions. As a result, certain psychotherapy models have been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms and improve long-term functioning.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most studied treatments for anxiety. Large-scale experiments show substantial reductions in worry, panic, and avoidance faced by people with anxiety as they learn to overcome their distressing thought patterns.

Dialectical behavior therapy is suitable for people who suffer from emotional reactivity during anxiety. It can improve your threshold to tolerate distress so you are better able to cope with everyday life stressors.

There is also exposure therapy, which is considered a gold-standard approach for phobias, panic disorder, and social anxiety. It introduces you to the situations you fear through gradual and repeated contact. As a result, your nervous system slowly learns to accept these situations as normal.

Some people benefit from values-driven action, which they learn from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). A large review summarizing 36 clinical experiments equates the efficacy of ACT to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy.⁴

Anxiety may also stem from a past traumatic experience in life, for which eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is particularly effective. It helps your brain reprocess distressing memories so they no longer trigger intense fear responses in the present.

Therapy Formats

A clinical experiment compared individual vs. group psychotherapy outcomes among university students with moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety. It found similar results in symptom reduction whether someone meets one-on-one with a clinician or works through their issues in a group.⁵

Individual therapy sessions give you the space for deeply personalized work. You can open up about your mental health more easily, and the type of therapy you receive will be tailored to your unique history.

Group therapy adds its own distinct benefits to your treatment plan. You learn to practice social skills in a group of people who are all learning to get back to social life under a trained therapist who will provide you with immediate feedback. The change in anxiety symptoms with groups has been established by research when compared with no-treatment control groups.⁶

You may also be offered family therapy so that your loved ones can better understand you and provide you with support. Integrating family work can also improve treatment adherence and functional gains in everyday life.

We also offer skills-based recovery groups. In these, participants work on specific skills they need in real-life, such as tolerating their symptoms, grounding practices, and emotional regulation.

A Better Life Recovery blends all of these therapy formats in your treatment plan rather than forcing you into a single path to recovery.

Anxiety and Addiction: Dual Diagnosis Treatment

According to the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, anxiety disorders significantly increase the odds of having a substance use disorder.⁷

People with chronic worry or fear may turn to alcohol, benzodiazepines, cannabis, or other substances in an attempt to quell their uncomfortable internal states. This self-medication behavior can predict the later development of a substance use disorder.⁸

At the same time, when anxiety goes untreated, it often increases the risk of relapse during recovery attempts. Comorbid conditions also tend to worsen your prognosis. Dual diagnosis is linked to more severe symptoms, poorer long-term outcomes, and higher rates of rehospitalization for mental health issues compared with single disorders alone.⁹

We treat anxiety and addiction through a fully integrated dual diagnosis program. In our approach, psychiatric care and medication management are included together so that both anxiety and substance use are addressed by the same team in the same system.

Our Anxiety Treatment Team

The anxiety treatment program at A Better Life Recovery is led by a board-certified psychiatrist (MD or DO) who confirms your diagnosis and makes decisions about your treatment. Under them, a multidisciplinary care team takes care of you in the following ways:

Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners provide you with frequent follow-ups and hands-on stabilization between psychiatrist visits.
Licensed clinical social workers deliver trauma-informed therapy for people who have a history of trauma.
Licensed marriage and family therapists focus on repairing your relationships so that you have your support system around.
Certified alcohol and drug counselors help you get off the vicious cycle of dual diagnosis. They also train you for relapse prevention through practical grounding skills.

Clinical support consisting of these team members is available for every client 24/7. We ensure that licensed staff are always prepared to respond to crises when you are in recovery.

Also, our staffing model gives individualized attention to everyone with a 1:2.5 staff-to-client ratio. Further, we measure your response to therapy every week and celebrate your wins while you are at our facility.

What to Expect in Anxiety Treatment

Your first experience at A Better Life Recovery will be of a comprehensive psychiatric and clinical assessment upon which your course of treatment will follow.

From there, we build an individualized treatment plan for you based on your diagnosis. The plan outlines the therapeutic approaches we will be using, psychiatric support, and recovery goals. Moreover, your voice will always be considered in this approach.

If needed, you will undergo medication evaluation and management. We will make sure to pay attention to the side effects of psychiatric medications.

Your day in a residential facility will blend individual therapy and group sessions. The individual sessions will focus on your personal triggers, whereas group therapy will teach you practical community skills.

Beyond clinical care, you will be in a residential facility with private or shared accommodations. We’ll provide you with chef-prepared meals that support your wellness, and get you access to an on-site gym and recreational activities to encourage movement.

Nearing the end of your treatment, the focus of your therapeutic plan will be on relapse prevention planning. On average, it takes about 30 to 60 days in the residential program for people to be able to get back to their lives.

Insurance and Admissions

To get started with therapy at A Better Life Recovery, all you have to do is get in touch with our admissions team. They are trained to walk you through insurance and verification steps so your treatment remains pressure-free.

We work with most major insurance plans and handle the details for you. The accepted plans include:

Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, First Choice, Humana, HMC Healthworks, Coventry Healthcare of Delaware, ComPsych, Health Net, MHN (A Health Net Company)

We also offer a free, fully confidential insurance verification service without any obligation to move forward. If you are in need of urgent care, you will be offered same-day admission.

A Better Life Recovery proudly serves individuals throughout Orange County, including Irvine, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and San Juan Capistrano.

Get Mental Health Help Today

Break free from mental health struggles today. Your journey to a healthier, more fulfilling life starts here. Contact us online or through our 24/7 admissions helpline at (866) 710-9128 to arrange a free, confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety Treatment

If you’re considering anxiety treatment in Orange County, it’s natural to have some ongoing concerns after the information on this page. To make the process as clear and stress-free as possible, we’ve provided the following answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive.

What Is the Best Therapy for Anxiety?

Cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy are two of the most effective evidence-based treatments for anxiety. We also use DBT and mindfulness-based therapy approaches based on your needs.

Will I Need Medication for Anxiety?

You will be prescribed medication only if our psychiatrist deems it necessary after a thorough evaluation. We prioritize non-addictive options as much as possible, especially for clients with a history of substance use.

Can You Treat Anxiety and Addiction Together?

Yes, our dual diagnosis program treats anxiety and substance use disorders simultaneously. Many people develop addiction while self-medicating for anxiety, and we address both conditions together.

How Long Is Treatment for Anxiety?

Residential treatment for anxiety typically lasts between 30 and 60 days. The exact length of your stay will be decided on the basis of the severity of your anxiety symptoms, co-occurring conditions, and individual progress.

Is Anxiety Treatment Covered by Insurance?

Yes, the Mental Health Parity Act mandates insurance plans to cover all sorts of mental health treatment, including anxiety treatment. You can call us for a free, confidential insurance verification.

References

National Institute of Mental Health. (2017). Any Anxiety Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
Mental Health America. (2025, March 5). Quick facts. Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/quick-facts
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), 5(5). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M. E. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for anxiety and depression: A review. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(4), 751–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.009
Fawcett, E., Neary, M., Ginsburg, R., & Cornish, P. (2020). Comparing the effectiveness of individual and group therapy for students with symptoms of anxiety and depression: A randomized pilot study. Journal of American College Health, 68(4), 430–437. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1577862
Barkowski, S., Schwartze, D., Strauss, B., Burlingame, G. M., & Rosendahl, J. (2020). Efficacy of group psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 30(8), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1729440
Smith, J. P., & Book, S. W. (2008). Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders: A Review. The Psychiatric Times, 25(10), 19. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2904966/
Robinson, J. (2011). Role of Self-medication in the Development of Comorbid Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(8), 800. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.75
Sweileh, W. M. (2024). Research landscape analysis on dual diagnosis of substance use and mental health disorders: key contributors, research hotspots, and emerging research topics. Annals of General Psychiatry, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-024-00517-x