Anxiety is a normal part of life, but sometimes it begins to take up too much space. Worry can become difficult to turn off. Children may start avoiding school, activities, or situations that make them uncomfortable. Teens may become overwhelmed by academic pressure, friendships, or fears about what others think. Adults may find themselves overthinking, avoiding, seeking reassurance, or feeling physically on edge even when everything seems fine on the surface.
At Colts Neck Psychological Group, we provide anxiety therapy for children, teens, and adults in Colts Neck, NJ. Our goal is not to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling. Instead, we help our clients better understand their anxiety, respond to it differently, and feel more confident handling situations that once felt overwhelming.
When Anxiety Gets in the Way
Anxiety doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some people, it is obvious worry or fear. For others, it may show up as irritability, perfectionism, procrastination, difficulty making decisions, physical symptoms, or avoiding situations that feel uncertain or uncomfortable.
Someone struggling with anxiety might:
- Worry excessively about things that could go wrong
- Avoid school, social situations, driving, travel, work responsibilities, or other activities
- Frequently seek reassurance from others
- Feel intense pressure to do things perfectly
- Overthink conversations or decisions
- Experience panic or intense physical symptoms of anxiety
- Have difficulty sleeping or quieting their mind
- Feel increasingly limited by fears or “what if” thinking
When anxiety begins influencing what you or your child will do, where you will go, or how you make decisions, therapy can help.
Anxiety in Children and Teens
Anxiety in children isn’t always easy to recognize. An anxious child may complain of stomachaches before school, become very upset about making mistakes, have difficulty separating from a parent, avoid new experiences, or repeatedly ask for reassurance.
As children get older, anxiety may center more around grades, friendships, sports, appearance, social situations, independence, or pressure to succeed.
Our therapists help children and teens understand what happens when they become anxious and develop practical skills for managing uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and situations.
Parents can also be an important part of treatment. We help parents understand how to support an anxious child while recognizing when reassurance, avoidance, or accommodations may unintentionally make it harder for their child to develop confidence in handling anxiety independently.
Anxiety in Adults
Adults with anxiety often appear to be functioning well from the outside.
You may be successful at work, taking care of your family, maintaining relationships, and doing everything you’re “supposed” to do—while spending an enormous amount of energy worrying, anticipating problems, second-guessing yourself, or trying to keep everything under control.
For some adults, anxiety is something they have experienced for years. For others, it becomes more noticeable during periods of change, stress, relationship difficulties, parenting challenges, or other major life transitions.
Therapy provides an opportunity to understand these patterns and develop more effective ways of responding to uncertainty, stress, and uncomfortable emotions.
We work with adults experiencing a range of anxiety-related concerns, including persistent worry, social anxiety, panic, perfectionism, life transitions, parenting stress, and anxiety that occurs alongside depression or other difficulties.
How We Treat Anxiety
There isn’t one approach to anxiety treatment that is right for everyone.
Our clinicians use evidence-based approaches while tailoring treatment to the individual. Therapy may involve identifying patterns of thinking and behavior that maintain anxiety, developing more effective coping skills, learning to tolerate uncertainty or uncomfortable emotions, and gradually changing patterns of avoidance.
Depending on your needs and the therapist you work with, treatment may draw from approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), exposure-based strategies, mindfulness, DBT-informed skills, psychodynamic approaches, parent coaching, and other evidence-based interventions.
Our approach is collaborative and practical. Understanding why anxiety happens can be helpful, but we also want you to develop skills and insights that translate into meaningful changes outside of the therapy office.
The goal isn’t to never feel anxious. It’s to become more confident in your ability to experience anxiety without allowing it to make increasingly more decisions for you.
Our Anxiety Therapists in Colts Neck
Our team includes psychologists and counselors who work with anxiety across different ages and stages of life. Finding someone whose experience and style fit what you’re looking for is an important part of the therapy process.
Elena Kochanek, Psy.D.
Dr. Elena is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist who works with teens and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, and difficulties with social confidence. She also works with parents navigating their children’s emotional and behavioral challenges. Her approach is warm, practical, and individualized and draws from psychodynamic theory, CBT, DBT, CPT, and mindfulness.
George Asfendis, Psy.D.
Dr. George is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist who works with anxiety, depression, OCD, parenting concerns, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children and teens. He also works with teens and college-age students on executive functioning skills. His approach is warm and goal-directed and incorporates cognitive approaches and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Alexandra Wiltshire, Psy.D.
Dr. Alex is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist specializing in children, adolescents, and young adults. She works with anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, behavioral challenges, and difficulties with emotion regulation. Her approach is grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and family systems work, with an emphasis on practical coping skills and resilience.
Nicolette Salerno, MSEd, LPC
Nicolette is a Licensed Professional Counselor who works with children, adolescents, young adults, and parents. She helps clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, difficulties with self-regulation, and social challenges. Her warm and collaborative approach draws from psychodynamic theory, CBT, CPT, and person-centered therapy.
Maggie LaBarbera, LAC
Maggie is a Licensed Associate Counselor who works with young children, teens, adults, couples, and families experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, and other life stressors. She has specialized training in CBT, Sand Therapy, interpersonal skills, and neurodivergence and has extensive experience supporting neurodivergent children and their families.
Jeff Ellias-Frankel, Ph.D.
Dr. Jeff is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than four decades of experience working with individuals, couples, and families. He helps clients navigate anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship difficulties, and questions of meaning and identity. His approach combines traditional clinical psychology with contemplative and nondual perspectives.
Anxiety Therapy in Colts Neck and Monmouth County
Colts Neck Psychological Group is located at 411 Highway 34, Suite 10, in Colts Neck, New Jersey. We provide therapy for individuals and families in Colts Neck and surrounding Monmouth County communities.
If anxiety is interfering with your life—or you’re concerned about anxiety in your child—you don’t need to know exactly what kind of treatment or therapist you need before contacting us.
We’ll learn more about what you’re looking for and help determine which member of our team may be the best fit.
Getting Started
Finding the right therapist matters. That’s why we offer a free 15-minute consultation to learn a little about what brings you to therapy, answer your initial questions, and help connect you with an appropriate clinician.
Contact us to get started.