What We Treat

Anxiety Center of Tampa is a behavioral health practice providing exclusive services to individuals with anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive related disorders. Our clinicians use evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Habit Reversal Training (HRT) to help clients overcome avoidance and engage in life more fully. 

Anxiety Disorders


Social Anxiety Disorder - A person with social anxiety disorder has significant anxiety and discomfort about being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected or looked down upon in social interactions. People with this disorder will try to avoid the situation or endure it with great anxiety. Common examples are extreme fear of public speaking, meeting new people or eating/drinking in public. The fear or anxiety causes problems with daily functioning and lasts at least six months.

Panic Attacks - The core symptom of panic disorder is recurrent panic attacks, an overwhelming combination of physical and psychological distress. During an attack several of these symptoms occur in combination: palpitations, pounding heart or rapid heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, feeling of shortness of breath or smothering sensations, chest pains, feeling dizzy, light-headed or faint, feeling of choking, numbness or tingling, chills or hot flashes, nausea or abdominal pains, feeling detached, fear of losing control, or fear of dying. Because symptoms are so severe, many people who experience a panic attack may believe they are having a heart attack or other life-threatening illness and may go to a hospital ER. Panic attacks may be expected, such as a response to a feared object, or unexpected, apparently occurring for no reason or "out of the blue." The mean age for onset of panic disorder is 22-23. Panic attacks may occur with other mental disorders such as depression or PTSD.

Agoraphobia - Agoraphobia is the fear of being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing, or help might not be available in the event of panic symptoms. The fear is out of proportion to the actual situation and lasts generally six months or more and causes problems in functioning. A person with agoraphobia experiences this fear in two or more of the following situations: Using public transportation, being in open space, being in enclosed places, standing in line or being in a crowd, or being outside the home alone. The individual actively avoids the situation, requires a companion or endures with intense fear or anxiety. Untreated agoraphobia can become so serious that a person may be unable to leave the house. A person can only be diagnosed with agoraphobia if the fear is intensely upsetting, or if it significantly interferes with normal daily activities.

Specific Phobias - A specific phobia is excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is generally not harmful. Patients know their fear is excessive, but they can’t overcome it. These fears cause such distress that some people go to extreme lengths to avoid what they fear. Examples are fear of flying or fear of spiders.

Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder where people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, and/or ideas, images, or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively in order to relieve anxiety from obsessions (compulsions). The repetitive behaviors, such as hand washing, checking on things or cleaning, can significantly interfere with a person’s daily activities and social interactions.

Forms of OCD can include: contamination, hoarding, symmetry and order, checking, counting, "just right" feeling, religious/scrupulosity, perfectionism, health anxiety, intrusive thoughts and rumination, fear of harm to self or others, sexual obsessions, homosexual OCD, and pedophilia OCD. For more information on OCD read What You Need to Know About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Related Disorders: Trichotillomania (hair-pulling); Excoriation (skin-picking); Body Dysmorphic Disorder; Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder