Anxiety Therapy in Westminster & Thornton, CO

You've read the books. You've tried the breathing apps. You can explain your anxiety in a TED Talk. And it's still 2pm and your shoulders are at your ears, your inbox feels like a threat, and you can't tell if you're tired or just dread.

Anxiety is intelligent — it's your nervous system doing what it learned to do to keep you safe. The problem isn't that it's there. The problem is that the threat-detection it learned for one chapter of your life is still running in this one, and willpower can't reach it.

I'm Sarah at Mindfully Rooted Therapy, working with adults across Westminster, Thornton, Broomfield, Northglenn, Arvada, and Federal Heights — in person at 2010 W. 120th Ave or online statewide.

The kinds of anxiety I work with

• Generalized anxiety (GAD) — the always-on background hum, the brain that won't downshift
• Panic attacks — including the kind that come without an obvious trigger
• Health anxiety
• High-functioning anxiety — the version where you look fine, achieve a lot, and quietly run on cortisol
• Performance and imposter anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Anxiety with a trauma history (often where the deepest healing happens)
• Postpartum and perinatal anxiety
• Anxiety in neurodivergent adults (ADHD, autistic, AuDHD) where it intersects with sensory load and rejection sensitivity

If you've been told you're "just a worrier" your whole life, or that your anxiety is "manageable" because you keep showing up, this is for you.

Why understanding alone hasn't fixed it

A lot of anxiety treatment teaches you to argue with your thoughts. That's useful, sometimes — but if your nervous system is dysregulated, no amount of cognitive disputation will convince your body it's safe. The body has the deciding vote.

Here's how I work with that.

CBT — for the thinking layer

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is well-supported for anxiety, especially GAD and panic. We use it to identify the cognitive distortions running in the background and to do practical, skills-based work — gradual exposure, behavioral experiments, structured worry time. It's the part of treatment that most clients can describe afterward.

EMDR — for the root layer

When anxiety has a trauma origin (which it usually does — even "low-grade" childhood experiences count), EMDR can target the old memories your nervous system is still using as evidence that the world isn't safe. Many of my anxiety clients come in expecting to manage symptoms and end up resolving root causes.

IFS — for the parts layer

There's usually a part of you that's anxious, a part that's exhausted by the anxious part, a part that pushes through, and a part underneath that everyone else is protecting. We get to know all of them. The volume often drops once each part feels heard.

Somatic and mindfulness work — for the body layer

We track your nervous system in real time, build interoceptive awareness, and practice tools that actually settle the body — not just distract from it. Mindfulness is foundational here, but in a clinical, individualized way, not a one-size-fits-all meditation app.

What sessions look like

Early sessions focus on assessment and stabilization — what's anxiety doing in your life, what's it costing you, what's already helped, what's making it worse. We build a toolkit. We pick a focus.

From there, the work depends on what's underneath: maybe primarily CBT and somatic for present-day anxiety, maybe EMDR-led for trauma-rooted anxiety, often a blend. Sessions are 50 minutes weekly to start, sometimes shifting to biweekly once you have momentum.

Investment & insurance

• Self-pay: $130 / 50-min session
• In-network with major Colorado insurance plans (see Billing & Insurance)
• Free 15-minute consultation
• Good Faith Estimate provided to self-pay clients per the No Surprises Act

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be on medication to do anxiety therapy? No. Therapy works whether you're medicated or not. If we identify medication as something worth exploring, I can refer you to trusted prescribers in the Westminster/Thornton area.

How long until I feel relief? Most clients notice meaningful skill-based relief in 4–8 sessions. Deeper, lasting shifts — especially when trauma is involved — usually unfold over 3–6 months.

Is CBT all I'll get? No. CBT is one tool. I integrate it with EMDR, IFS, somatic work, and mindfulness based on what your nervous system actually needs. Pure CBT often plateaus for clients with trauma histories — which is most of us.

I'm "high-functioning." Do I really need therapy? "High-functioning" usually means the cost of your anxiety is being paid by your body, your sleep, your relationships, or your weekends. It still counts.

Can we do this online? Yes — telehealth across Colorado. Many of my Thornton, Broomfield, and Northglenn clients work entirely virtually.

I'm autistic / ADHD / AuDHD. Will you understand? Yes. Neurodivergent anxiety has specific textures — sensory overload, RSD, masking fatigue, demand avoidance — that get missed in generic anxiety treatment. I'll meet you where your wiring actually is.

Serving Westminster, Thornton & the north Denver metro

My office is at 2010 W. 120th Ave in Westminster, easily reachable from Thornton, Broomfield, Northglenn, Arvada, and Federal Heights. Free parking. Telehealth available statewide.