marie.
Anxiety Psychologist
About me
I am Marie Louise Benedetti de Almeida!
I graduated in São Paulo (Brazil).
Since 2016, my first period in University,
I had internships in many psychology areas.
My greatest curiosity was: understanding
how anxiety manifests in different contexts.
In 2021, for my final project, I prepared a
literature review in the form an article.
In 2022, working in a clinic, I had the opportunity
to develop specialized skills by working
in person with clients of various ages & needs.
Completing my specialization in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), following two years of clinical supervision and earning the
DGERT European Certificate, I decided to focus,
starting in January 2024, on treating anxiety in women aged 18 and older.
According to Robert Leahy,
there are 6 types of anxiety disorders.
Which will be outlined in more detail below.
It is not necessary to have an anxiety disorder to seek treatment for the emotion. In fact, difficulties related to "normal fear" are quite common.
This means you may struggle with it, but it doesn’t meet the criteria for a pathological condition.
Treatment will improve other areas, such as anger management, even if they are not the primary focus.
Motherhood, college, relationships, burnout,
grief, and eating habits are examples
of life areas that you may need support
in managing uncertainties.
Feel welcome to schedule an evaluation!
Influence of the Thoughts
Automatic Thoughts
thoughts, images, memories and ideas
emotional reactions
behavioral reactions
physiological reactions
happiness, sadness, fear and anger
isolation, friendliness and violence
dizziness, tachycardia and breathlessness
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Free: Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You 2009 Robert L. Leahy
—
Specific phobias
Specific phobia is an intense fear of a specific object, situation, or activity (heights, animals, flying, needles). The fear is disproportionate to any actual danger and can significantly interfere with daily life.
—
Obsessive compulsive disorder
OCD is related to the fear of the thoughts and their meanings. When having repetitive ones (obsessions), Sophie behaviors in ways to reduce the anxiety (compulsions), such as rituals.
—
Social anxiety disorder
SAD refers to the fear of judgments. When in social situations, Sophie overthinks the impact of her performance. She avoids going out with friends, having lunch in group, work conventions, family meetings.
—
Panic disorder & agoraphobia
Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks (fear of her own emotional, behavioral and physiological reactions). Agoraphobia: when the attack occurs in specific situations.
—
Generalized anxiety disorder
GAD is a chronic and excessive worry about various aspects of life simultaneously (work, health, relationships, daily situations). Sophie experiences restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and irritability.
—
Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSD is the fear of experiencing the traumatic event (flashbacks, memories, nightmares, or even in fact). Sophie does not want to go to therapy because it will be necessary to experience it by addressing the issue.
Sophie's Treatment
It is important that the diagnostic hypothesis is carefully developed by the psychologist. If possible, by a multidisciplinary team.
1
Developing change motivation
Sophie learns how the disorder works and identify related difficulties
2
Identifying fears
She creates a list of the fundamental fears, rating and and ranking them
3
Acting on safety behaviors
Sophie identifies actions that help at first, but maintain the problem
4
Questioning thoughts
She works to be more flexible when it comes to thoughts and beliefs
5
Exposing to anxiety
Sophie starts to break avoiding and depending behaviors
6
Practicing coping mechanism
She learns how to deal with uncertainties, ato reduce difficulties
How does it work?
Patients
Women +18 years old
Evaluation Session
No cost & no compromise
Treatment
400 euros for 4 session
Duration
Up to 40 minutes
Patients' Feedbacks
"Marie is very friendly and welcoming.
Since our first session I felt comfortable to open up to her. I enjoy the daily homework because it helps to make daily progress. She provides a lot of encouragement after completing the homework and recognizes progress and celebrates. I have worked with Marie on a weekly basis for almost two months now but I feel like I can already see small changes in my thought process"
Stephanie Avalos
