Health anxiety
Therapy for health anxiety
For adults who check their bodies, search symptoms or need to hear that they are fine, and cannot let it rest.
Nathan does not ask for your medical history or tell you what your symptoms mean. See a physician for that. Sessions are about the checking, the searching and the asking, and what they cost you.
Notice the loop
You and Nathan trace what sets it off, what you do next and how long it takes to settle.
Practice leaving it alone
You pick one habit, like checking a pulse or searching a symptom, and plan a step to wait before you do it.
A plan for the week
Written down, if you want it, and changed whenever it asks too much.
The method, and what it is not
How the work is done
The method
Exposure and response prevention (ERP), a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, adapted for health worries: you practice not checking, not searching and not asking for reassurance.
What this is not
Not a medical visit. Nathan does not examine you, review test results or say whether a symptom is serious. If something worries you, see a physician. If it is an emergency, call 911.
Length and pace
Sessions run 50 minutes, usually weekly at first. Nathan sets the pace with you and does not promise a number of sessions or a result.
How it is paid
You pay for each session yourself, and Nathan gives you the fee in writing before you start. A monthly receipt is available if your plan reimburses out-of-network care.
How fees work
Questions
Three questions people ask
Do I need to stop seeing my doctor?
No. Keep your regular care. Nathan will not tell you to skip an appointment or ignore a symptom.
Will you ask about my medical history?
No. You tell Nathan about your worries in the room, in your own words, if and when you choose. We do not collect health details by form.
What if I really am sick?
Then you have two jobs: your care, and the worry around it. Therapy is for the second one, and Nathan works alongside your medical care.
Would you like to talk it through first?
A 15-minute call is a way to see whether we fit. It is not therapy, an evaluation or an assessment.