You deserve to feel calm again.
We treat anxiety with time, understanding, and approaches that actually work — medication when it helps, medical acupuncture, and lifestyle changes, coordinated by one team.
How anxiety is treated here
Medication, Used Thoughtfully
SSRIs and other options prescribed carefully, with benzodiazepines reserved for short-term, specific situations.
Medical Acupuncture
Medical acupuncture calms the nervous system and lowers stress hormones, often covered by insurance.
Real Monitoring
Close follow-up in the first weeks of any new medication, with fast access if something doesn't feel right.
Types of anxiety we treat
Anxiety wears many faces — and naming which pattern you're dealing with shapes the treatment. All of these are common, real, and treatable.
Generalized Anxiety
Persistent, hard-to-control worry across many areas of life — often with restlessness, muscle tension, poor sleep, and a mind that won't switch off.
Panic Disorder
Sudden, intense surges of fear with a pounding heart, shortness of breath, and a sense of doom — often mistaken for a heart problem, and frightening enough to reshape your life around avoiding the next one.
Social Anxiety
Intense fear of judgment or embarrassment in social or performance situations, enough to lead to avoidance that narrows work, school, and relationships.
Phobias & Related
Specific phobias, health anxiety, and OCD-spectrum patterns — where fear latches onto a particular trigger and drives avoidance or rituals.
How we evaluate anxiety
Good anxiety care starts with understanding what's actually driving it — and ruling out physical causes that can masquerade as a psychiatric disorder. A first visit is unhurried and thorough:
- A real conversation: your symptoms, triggers, sleep, and what you've already tried — in a 30–60 minute visit, not a rushed ten
- Validated screening: tools like the GAD-7 to measure severity and track improvement over time with numbers, not just impressions
- Ruling out medical causes: checking for thyroid problems, caffeine and stimulant effects, blood sugar swings, and heart rhythm issues that can mimic anxiety
- Looking for overlap: recognizing coexisting depression or ADHD, which frequently travel with anxiety and change the treatment plan
- A plan you choose: medication, medical acupuncture, therapy, and lifestyle change — combined in whatever mix fits you, and adjusted until you feel better
You don't have to white-knuckle through anxiety.
Most new patients are seen within a week, in person or via telemedicine.
Anxiety treatment options
There's no single right way to treat anxiety — the best plan usually combines a few approaches, matched to your symptoms and preferences rather than a default prescription.
SSRIs & SNRIs
First-line medications for ongoing anxiety — effective, non-habit-forming, and well tolerated by most. They take 4–6 weeks to reach full effect, and we monitor closely early on.
Medical Acupuncture
A medication-free option shown to calm the nervous system and lower stress hormones like cortisol — often deeply relaxing, and frequently covered by insurance.
Therapy & Skills
CBT and other evidence-based approaches give you practical tools that outlast any prescription. We coordinate with a therapist you have or help you find one.
Short-Term & Lifestyle
Careful, short-term use of fast-acting medication for acute panic when needed, plus sleep, exercise, and caffeine changes that genuinely reduce baseline anxiety.
Many patients use medication for 6–12 months while building skills and lifestyle changes, then taper off once stable — while others do best staying on it longer. Either way, it's your choice, made with close monitoring and fast access if something doesn't feel right.
Prescribed responsibly, because we actually care
When anxiety treatment involves a controlled medication like a benzodiazepine, we prescribe it thoughtfully and with real safeguards. These aren't hoops to jump through — they're how we keep the people we treat genuinely safe. To us, careful prescribing is good care.
Regular In-Person Visits
New Jersey requires an in-person visit at least every three months to continue a controlled-substance prescription, and we hold to it. Telemedicine fills in between, but we keep seeing you in person as the state — and good medicine — require.
Urine Drug Screening
We obtain a urine drug screen before starting a controlled substance, and periodically afterward — not out of suspicion, but as a routine, respectful part of safe prescribing that protects you.
We Check the NJPMP
Before every controlled-substance prescription we review the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program, the statewide database that helps prevent dangerous interactions and keeps your full medication picture in view.
Related mental health services
Depression Treatment
Anxiety and depression frequently occur together — treating them as one connected picture works far better than addressing either alone.
Learn moreMental Health Care
Whole-person mental health care with unhurried appointments and several treatment approaches coordinated under one roof.
Learn moreMedical Acupuncture
A proven, medication-free path to a calmer nervous system — used on its own or alongside other anxiety treatment.
Learn moreAnxiety treatment questions
How quickly will I feel better?
It varies. Some patients notice improvement within a few weeks. Medication typically takes 4–6 weeks to reach full effectiveness, though acupuncture often provides calming effects during the session itself. Progress is monitored closely and treatment adjusted as needed.
Will I need to take medication forever?
Not necessarily. Many patients use medication for 6–12 months while also working on lifestyle changes or therapy, then discuss gradually reducing it once stable. Some stay on medication long-term because it works well for them — the choice is yours.
What if medication makes me feel worse?
Call us immediately. You're monitored closely, especially in the first few weeks. If something doesn't feel right, we adjust your dose or switch medications — you won't wait days to get help.
Does acupuncture really work for anxiety?
Yes. Research shows medical acupuncture reduces anxiety by calming the nervous system and lowering stress hormones like cortisol. Many patients find it deeply relaxing, with reduced physical tension and better sleep.
Do you prescribe medications like Xanax or Klonopin?
We prescribe benzodiazepines cautiously and typically for short-term use in specific situations, such as acute panic attacks or while waiting for an SSRI to take effect. For long-term management we prefer medications with less risk of dependence.
What's the difference between normal stress and an anxiety disorder?
Everyday stress comes and goes with its cause and usually eases once the situation resolves. An anxiety disorder is persistent, often out of proportion to what's actually happening, and interferes with sleep, work, relationships, or daily function — frequently with physical symptoms like a racing heart, tight chest, or constant dread. When worry runs the show most days for weeks or months, it's worth evaluating rather than just powering through.
Can a thyroid problem cause anxiety?
Yes. An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can produce a racing heart, restlessness, and anxiety that feel identical to a psychiatric anxiety disorder, and other issues like excess caffeine, low blood sugar, or heart rhythm problems can too. Because we're a full family-medicine practice, we check for these physical causes rather than assuming anxiety is always purely psychological.
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