13 Top-Rated Anxiety Therapists In NYC

Receive cutting edge and compassionate care from the experienced anxiety specialists at The Midtown Practice. Treat your anxiety holistically, with anxiety therapy and medication management under one roof.

When Anxiety Is No Longer AdaptiveThousands of years ago, when our ancestors were wandering the plains or the tundra, they were outnumbered by prey and predators who were faster, stronger, had sharper teeth, a keener sense of smell, and even more perceptive hearing. The one advantage our predecessors had was a larger brain, with the ability to anticipate the future. In order to survive, we learned to essentially overestimate the potential dangers in our environment. So although anxiety is among the spectrum of normal human emotions, we are all unfortunately prone to exaggerate worst case scenarios and disproportionately weigh negative alternatives. That’s when anxiety becomes pervasive and disrupts our everyday life. 

The clinicians at The Midtown Practice recognize that while our biology primes us towards anxiety, many suffer from too much worry and doubt.

The Biological Basis of Anxiety

Although many people consider anxiety to be a mental condition, its causes and effects are just as physical. When we perceive a threat in our environment, an ancient nucleus in our brain, the amygdala, is activated. Unfortunately, the process does not distinguish between a real or imagined threat, and our body and brain prepare for the worst. The amygdala sends diffuse projections throughout the brain, activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and heightening fearful emotions.

Taken together, the hormones and neurotransmitters released in response to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system cause a predictable cascade of events. 

• Our thinking becomes more concrete, and sophisticated problem solving becomes difficult as we jump to worst-case scenarios.
•  Our heart beats faster in order to increase blood flow to our limbs.
• Our breathing becomes more rapid to deliver oxygen to our muscles. 
• We might feel like we need to rush to the bathroom as our body signals our digestive system to slow down and empty our bowels and bladder in order to make ourselves lighter on our feet.

Unlike our ancestors, in most urban areas such as New York City, we are not running from our enemies, but instead wrangling with how to handle a difficult boss, balance or juggle responsibilities, or manage other difficult but not life-threatening situations. At The Midtown Practice, we help our clients identify our body’s outdated responses to stress and help replace this tendency with practical and adaptive strategies to handle our difficulties.

Holly Alderman, LCSW

Best for family-related anxiety and relationship stress

If your anxiety is closely tied to your relationships, family dynamics, or parenting challenges, my background in family systems therapy may be especially helpful. I have specialized postgraduate training from the Ackerman Institute for the Family and experience supporting couples through Montefiore Medical Center’s Supporting Healthy Relationships Program. 

Clients often come to me because they want to understand how their relationships influence their anxiety, rather than focusing on symptoms alone. I work with individuals, couples, and families, combining approaches such as ACT, CBT, DBT, and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Together, we’ll explore the patterns contributing to your distress while building healthier communication skills, stronger relationships, and more effective ways of managing difficult emotions.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #088473
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, family and relationship issues, parenting, life transitions, depression, identity exploration
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Danielle Esposito, LCSW

Best for fertility anxiety and motherhood transitions

With nearly two decades of clinical experience, I’ve helped people navigate anxiety during some of life’s most emotional transitions. I’m particularly passionate about supporting women through fertility challenges, family-building decisions, and motherhood, including those choosing to become single mothers. 

Women navigating these experiences may find my anxiety therapy especially supportive because I understand the emotional complexities that accompany them. My experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and families also helps me recognize how anxiety affects relationships across different stages of life. I combine psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches to help you process difficult emotions, manage uncertainty, and feel more confident in your choices, whether you’re navigating parenthood or another significant life transition.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #082757
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, fertility and family-building, pregnancy and postpartum, parenting, trauma, self-esteem, relationship issues, life transitions
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Karen Franklin, LCSW

Best for chronic worry, panic, and emotional patterns

If you’ve tried managing your anxiety with coping strategies but still find yourself caught in the same emotional patterns, my approach to anxiety therapy in New York offers an opportunity to explore what’s happening beneath the surface. With over 20 years of clinical experience, I combine practical anxiety-management techniques with a deeper understanding of how past experiences and relationships shape our emotional responses. 

One reason people seek me out is my ability to address anxiety from multiple perspectives, including psychodynamic therapy, CBT, DBT, and executive functioning support. I also offer therapy in English and Spanish, bringing a culturally sensitive perspective shaped by my upbringing in Venezuela. Whether you’re struggling with panic, chronic worry, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities, I’ll help you find strategies that work for you.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #100938
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, panic, depression, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, executive functioning, life transitions
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Eve Josephson, LCSW

Best for high achievers struggling with burnout

Before becoming a therapist, I worked in Human Resources, where I saw how workplace expectations, interpersonal challenges, and competing responsibilities can take a toll on mental health. That experience gives me a perspective that resonates with professionals who feel constantly pressured to perform, achieve, or hold everything together. 

People who work with me often appreciate that I understand professional stress from both a clinical and organizational perspective. I know that managing work anxiety isn’t always as simple as setting better boundaries or taking more breaks. Together, we’ll look at the expectations, relationships, and patterns contributing to your anxiety while developing practical ways to manage stress. As an anxiety therapist in New York, my approach is collaborative and flexible, helping you build a healthier relationship with work without losing sight of what matters outside it.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #102208
• Specialty Areas: Workplace anxiety, work-life balance, depression, professional stress, life transitions
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Sophia Muntyan

Best for performers battling perfectionism and anxiety

As a former professional ballet dancer, I understand the kind of anxiety that comes from being constantly evaluated, striving for perfection, and feeling that your worth depends on your achievements. This firsthand experience is a big part of why dancers, athletes, artists, and other high achievers may feel particularly understood in our work together. I also founded Ballet Hotline, a mental health coaching platform for dancers, and have supported performers worldwide through challenges such as performance anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, and identity struggles. 

Unlike someone who has only studied these pressures from the outside, I’ve experienced many of them myself. Drawing on CBT and ACT, I help clients develop a healthier relationship with achievement, manage anxiety around performance, and recognize their value beyond what they accomplish.

• Credentials: Therapist in Training; Mental Health Counseling Master’s Candidate
• Specialty Areas: Performance anxiety, perfectionism, burnout, self-esteem, OCD, achievement pressure, athletes and performing artists
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Azat Oganesian, LCSW

Best for anxiety fueled by anger and emotional overwhelm

Not everyone experiences anxiety as worry or nervousness. Sometimes it looks like irritability, anger, emotional outbursts, or behaviors that feel difficult to control. If this sounds familiar, my experience working with emotional regulation and anger management may make me a particularly good fit for anxiety therapy in NYC.

People tend to connect with my approach when they want to understand why they react the way they do, rather than simply learning to suppress their emotions. With more than 12 years of experience, I combine DBT, Internal Family Systems, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and psychodynamic approaches to help clients recognize emotional patterns and respond differently. I also offer sessions in Russian, providing another option for clients who feel more comfortable exploring their emotions in their native language.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #087559
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, panic, anger management, emotional regulation, stress management, trauma, depression, relationship issues
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Jane Ray, LMHC-D

Best for anxious teens, students, and creatives

Young people and creative professionals face pressures that aren’t always fully understood by therapists who haven’t worked in those environments. My experience as a school-based clinician at LaGuardia High School gave me firsthand insight into the emotional challenges facing students, including academic anxiety, OCD, ADHD, school refusal, and identity concerns. 

Teens, young adults, and artists may be drawn to me as a therapist for anxiety because I understand the intersection of anxiety, creativity, and personal development. I also bring specialized trauma treatment experience, including certifications in EMDR and Cognitive Processing Therapy. This allows me to support clients whose anxiety is connected to difficult past experiences as well as those navigating everyday stressors. My goal is to help you feel understood while developing tools that support your emotional well-being and personal growth.

• Credentials: Licensed Mental Health Counselor #011571
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, trauma, OCD, adolescents, college students, artists and creatives, depression, identity exploration
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in NYC

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Jackie Siegal, LCSW

Best for corporate stress and work-life anxiety

If you’re looking for an anxiety therapist in New York who understands the corporate world firsthand, my background may be what makes us a good match. Before becoming a therapist, I spent years working in corporate America and earned an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. I know how workplace politics, professional expectations, and demanding schedules can contribute to anxiety. 

Many professionals appreciate working with someone who understands that career stress involves more than simply having too much to do. It can affect your confidence, relationships, identity, and ability to disconnect outside office hours. I combine psychodynamic therapy with practical cognitive-behavioral strategies, offering a collaborative approach that includes empathy and humor. Together, we’ll work toward reducing anxiety while helping you feel more confident and fulfilled in your professional and personal life.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker 
• Specialty Areas: Career anxiety, workplace stress, work-life balance, relationship issues, trauma, depression, grief, family challenges
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Shira Lee Silver, LCSW-R

Best for young adult anxiety and relationship uncertainty

Your 20s and 30s can bring enormous pressure to figure out your career, relationships, finances, and future. Much of my work focuses on young adults who are trying to navigate these decisions while struggling with anxiety, panic, or uncertainty about where their lives are headed. 

Young adults often find my approach helpful because I understand how anxiety during this stage of life can be tied to family expectations, relationship patterns, and questions about identity. Rather than focusing only on symptom management, I help clients explore what’s driving their anxiety and develop greater trust in themselves. My approach combines relational and psychodynamic therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), giving you space to understand your experiences while building the confidence to move forward, even when you don’t have all the answers.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker with psychotherapy privilege 
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, panic, young adult challenges, relationship issues, family conflict, career stress, grief, trauma, depression
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Cliff Sobel, MHC-LP

Best for entrepreneurs struggling with performance anxiety and career pressure

Having spent decades as a CEO and entrepreneur, I know the anxiety that can come with building a business, leading a team, and making decisions that carry significant consequences. I also understand how the pressures of professional success can spill into relationships, personal well-being, and your sense of identity. 

Entrepreneurs and executives may feel particularly comfortable working with me because I’ve faced many of the challenges they’re bringing into therapy. My background allows me to approach their concerns with an understanding of both business realities and mental health. 

Today, I combine my experience in executive coaching with psychodynamic, existential, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Whether you’re struggling with career uncertainty, leadership stress, or major changes in your personal life, I’ll help you develop the perspective and tools to navigate those challenges with greater confidence.

• Credentials: Mental Health Counselor – Limited Permit 
• Specialty Areas: Performance anxiety, career stress, executive coaching, entrepreneurship, depression, relationship issues, midlife transitions
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Jared Sossin, LMHC-D, NCC

Best for OCD, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance

I believe that lasting change often comes not from eliminating difficult emotions, but from learning how to experience them without letting them dictate your decisions. What clients may find distinctive about working with me is my integration of psychotherapy with more than a decade of personal meditation practice and teaching. I bring mindfulness into therapy as both a clinical approach and something I’ve practiced extensively in my own life. 

Rather than relying exclusively on traditional anxiety-management techniques, I help clients develop a different relationship with distress, build resilience, and gradually move away from avoidance. Together, we’ll work toward creating more space for the experiences and relationships that matter to you.

• Credentials: Licensed Mental Health Counselor; National Certified Counselor 
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, emotional avoidance, depression, trauma, stress, psychological flexibility
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person therapy in New York 

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Esmé Stern, LMSW

Best for trauma-related anxiety and identity struggles

If your anxiety seems connected to past experiences, relationship patterns, or a sense of feeling disconnected from yourself, my trauma-informed approach may be particularly helpful. I work with young adults navigating anxiety, identity development, and major life transitions, paying attention to how emotional experiences affect both the mind and body.

 My specialized training in EMDR, AEDP, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy offers clients an opportunity to explore New York anxiety therapy beyond traditional talk therapy. I also combine psychodynamic therapy, CBT, mindfulness, and somatic approaches to help you better understand yourself and develop a stronger sense of emotional safety.

• Credentials: Licensed Master Social Worker 
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, trauma, somatic therapy, young adults, identity development, relationship difficulties, life transitions, depression
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York

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Melissa Wright Cemel, LCSW

Best for breaking anxiety-driven habits and avoidance

Some people come to therapy understanding exactly what’s making them anxious but still struggle to change how they respond. If you’re tired of recognizing the same patterns without feeling able to break them, my active, behavior-focused approach may be particularly helpful. 

I specialize in ACT and have extensive experience developing and delivering ACT-based treatment programs. As an Advanced Clinician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, I’ve also contributed to research and innovative group therapy programming using this approach. 

My work is especially suited to people who want to make meaningful changes in their everyday lives rather than focusing only on gaining insight. Together, we’ll identify the habits and avoidance patterns keeping you stuck while building greater psychological flexibility and helping you take action toward what matters most.

• Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker 
• Specialty Areas: Anxiety, psychological flexibility, eating disorders, depression, maladaptive coping patterns, behavioral change
• Virtual Therapy?: Yes, virtual and in-person in New York 

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