When weekly therapy stops holding the anxiety back, adults in Thousand Oaks can step up to treatment-level care: CBT, DBT, EMDR, medication management, and, for severe or co-occurring cases, an anxiety IOP or PHP. You keep living at home in the Conejo Valley while you attend, in person or online, and we work with most major insurers.
Signs You Need More Than Weekly Therapy for Anxiety
Anxiety symptoms show up as worry you cannot switch off, panic attacks, a racing heart or chest tightness, trouble sleeping, and avoiding the places and situations that set it off. Weekly therapy is enough for many people, and the sign you need more is simple: those anxiety symptoms are still running your days despite it.
Look at how far anxiety has pushed into daily life. It is time for a higher level of care when panic attacks are frequent, when anxiety is keeping you from work, school, or sleep, when avoidance is steadily shrinking where you go and what you do, when physical symptoms like a racing heart or constant tension will not ease, or when weekly sessions simply are not holding anymore. Anxiety that comes alongside depression, trauma, or substance use is another reason to step up, because one rarely settles while the other is left untreated.
How We Treat Anxiety in Thousand Oaks
We treat anxiety across several levels of care under one roof in Thousand Oaks, and you move between them as your symptoms ease. Most anxiety is treated entirely outpatient, with no residential stay or time away from home. Treatment opens with a clinical assessment by a licensed anxiety therapist, who sets your diagnosis, your level of care, and whether a psychiatric evaluation belongs alongside therapy, and we review your progress as you go rather than leaving it to guesswork.
Standard outpatient care is weekly therapy with the backing of a full clinical team, for anxiety that is real but manageable. The intensive outpatient program (IOP) adds several structured hours a week, for when weekly sessions stop holding. The partial hospitalization program (PHP) is the most structured day treatment, for severe anxiety or anxiety that comes with another condition, and we provide crisis stabilization when anxiety escalates into a crisis. The evening program carries the same clinical work after the workday. You can attend in person at our Thousand Oaks office or join by telehealth, and we step you down as you stabilize, with aftercare to hold your progress. We treat adults 18 and over; if you are looking for anxiety treatment for a teenager, call and we will help you find an adolescent provider.
Anxiety Therapy in Thousand Oaks: CBT, DBT, and EMDR
Anxiety therapy at our Thousand Oaks center is built on evidence-based methods, not open-ended talk, and your anxiety therapist matches the approach to your type of anxiety, from panic and social anxiety to generalized anxiety therapy for the worry that runs all day. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the core, and it has the strongest research behind it for anxiety: you learn to catch the thoughts that spin anxiety up and to face feared situations in small, supported steps rather than avoiding them. That graded facing of fears, known as exposure therapy, is the most proven ingredient in anxiety therapy. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) adds skills for riding out intense worry and physical tension without being pulled under. EMDR therapy is used when anxiety or panic is tied to a past trauma, reprocessing the memory so it stops setting off alarms in the present. Individual, group, and family sessions, plus mindfulness skills, round out the week, because anxiety is easier to work on with support around you.
Anxiety Medication and Psychiatry in Thousand Oaks
Medication is part of the plan for many people with moderate to severe anxiety, and psychiatry for anxiety is handled on site in Thousand Oaks rather than referred across town. Our Medical Director, a board-certified adult psychiatrist, and our psychiatric nurse practitioners evaluate whether medication would help, prescribe and adjust it, and stay in contact with your therapist so the two sides of your care work from the same plan. If medication is not the right call for you, no one pushes it. For treatment-resistant symptoms, we also offer TMS.
When Anxiety Comes With Depression or Trauma
Anxiety rarely arrives alone. Depression, trauma, PTSD, and sometimes alcohol or substance use sit alongside it, and treating only the anxiety tends to leave the door open for it to come back. We treat both sides together through our dual diagnosis care, with one team and one plan, so you are not managing a separate depression or trauma provider on top of everything else. Anxiety treatment here is one part of our broader mental health care, and you can move between them without starting over. For veterans and active-duty military, we run a dedicated track, because service-related trauma and anxiety often travel together.
How Common Anxiety Is Around Thousand Oaks
Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in the country, so if it has taken over more than you would like, you are far from alone. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that anxiety disorders affect about 40 million US adults, roughly 18 percent, every year, and that only about 37 percent of people who have one ever get treatment. The same pattern holds across Ventura County and the Conejo Valley, where many people carry anxiety for years before reaching out.
Our office is in Thousand Oaks, which keeps structured care close to home and easy to reach. Starting near where you live, and being able to stay with it week to week, is a large part of what makes treatment work.
Source: Anxiety and Depression Association of America (adaa.org).
Our Thousand Oaks Office and Service Area
Our office is at 290 Conejo Ridge Avenue, Thousand Oaks, CA 91361, just off US-101 in the Conejo Valley, with easy access from the 101, Lynn Road, and Moorpark Road. Our anxiety treatment is part of our outpatient rehab in Thousand Oaks, and we treat adults in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village and the surrounding Conejo Valley and eastern Ventura County, including nearby Newbury Park, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Camarillo, Moorpark, and Simi Valley, and we offer telehealth across Ventura County and Los Angeles County for people who prefer to join from home. Use the map below for directions, or call and we will talk you in.
Insurance for Anxiety Treatment
We work with most major commercial insurers, in-network and out-of-network, and verify your coverage on any plan before you start. We work with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, UMR, Anthem, GEHA, Blue Shield of California, and Kaiser Permanente. Most commercial plans cover outpatient mental health treatment. Call us or send the verification form and we will confirm what your plan covers before you commit to anything.
Reviewed by Our Medical Director
Medically reviewed by Codie Vassar, MD, MS
Board-Certified Adult Psychiatrist · Medical Director, Lotus Recovery Treatment Center
The medical information on this page is reviewed by Codie Vassar, MD, MS, a board-certified adult psychiatrist and Medical Director at Lotus Recovery Treatment Center. Dr. Vassar earned a medical degree and completed psychiatry residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and holds a master's in Clinical Informatics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a 15-year veteran of the Wisconsin Army National Guard Medical Corps, and he speaks Spanish natively. His clinical work spans outpatient psychiatry, psychiatric crisis services, and addiction treatment. Lotus Recovery is licensed by the California Department of Health Care Services (license 560078AP) and accredited by The Joint Commission. Connect with Dr. Vassar on LinkedIn.
Questions People Ask About Anxiety Treatment
What Is the Most Successful Treatment for Anxiety?
Cognitive behavioral therapy, especially exposure therapy, has the strongest evidence for anxiety, and for moderate to severe anxiety it tends to work best paired with medication. EMDR helps when the anxiety is tied to a past trauma. There is no single answer for everyone, because the most successful plan is the one matched to your type and severity of anxiety, which is what the first assessment sorts out.
What's the 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety?
It is a quick grounding technique for a spike of anxiety: name three things you can see, name three things you can hear, then move three parts of your body, such as your fingers, your shoulders, and your feet. It pulls your attention back to the present moment. It can steady you in the moment, but it does not replace treatment for an anxiety disorder.
What Should I Do if I Can't Control My Anxiety Anymore?
When anxiety stops responding to your usual coping and starts running your days, your sleep, or your work, that is the point to get a professional assessment rather than pushing through alone. Call us and we will set one up. If you ever feel unsafe or have thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is free and available 24 hours a day.
What Is the #1 Worst Habit for Anxiety?
Avoidance. Steering around the situations that make you anxious brings relief for a moment but teaches your brain the fear was justified, so the anxiety grows. Treatment works in the opposite direction, helping you face those situations in small, supported steps. Leaning on heavy caffeine or using alcohol to take the edge off also tends to make anxiety worse over time.
When Should Anxiety Be Treated With More Than Weekly Therapy?
When panic attacks are frequent, anxiety is keeping you from work or sleep, avoidance is shrinking your life, or weekly sessions are no longer holding, it is time for a higher level of care. Our intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs give you several structured hours a week, and we add them when weekly therapy alone is not enough.
Is EMDR Used to Treat Anxiety?
Yes. EMDR is especially useful when anxiety or panic is tied to a past trauma, and it is one of the evidence-based therapies we use alongside CBT and DBT. Our clinicians decide with you whether it fits your situation during the assessment.
Can You Treat Anxiety and Depression at the Same Time?
Yes. Anxiety and depression often travel together, and we treat them in one coordinated plan through our dual diagnosis care rather than sending you to separate providers. Your therapist and our psychiatric team work from the same plan.
Does Insurance Cover Anxiety Treatment in Thousand Oaks?
Usually, yes. Most commercial plans cover outpatient mental health treatment, and we work with most major carriers both in-network and out-of-network. We verify your benefits before you start and tell you what your plan covers.
Start Anxiety Treatment in Thousand Oaks
Anxiety treatment in Thousand Oaks starts with one call and a free insurance check, and our admissions line is answered 24 hours a day. Tell us what is going on, and we confirm your coverage and map out the level of care that fits.