Health Anxiety Therapy in Ottawa
Step off the checking-and-reassurance treadmill. Health anxiety therapy in Ottawa, in person or online.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationStep off the checking-and-reassurance treadmill. Health anxiety therapy in Ottawa, in person or online.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationEvery clinician is registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) or the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).
We want therapy to be financially accessible for everyone. Reduced rates are available case-by-case based on need and availability.
We submit directly to most major insurers, so you don't pay out of pocket upfront.
Our office is in Ottawa. All client records are stored in Canada and handled under PIPEDA and PHIPA.
Therapy is a space to slow down and look at what's underneath. These are some of the patterns people bring into the room.
FOR WHEN SOMETHING FEELS OFF
You check symptoms online. You ask someone if they think it's serious. You book a doctor's appointment to be sure. The relief feels real, until the next thought arrives, and the whole cycle starts again. Reassurance doesn't fix health anxiety. It feeds it.
You notice sensations other people don't think twice about: a twitch, a tightness, a heartbeat that suddenly feels too loud. The more you monitor, the more you find. The more you find, the more afraid you become.
There's a particular cruelty to health anxiety: the physical symptoms of anxiety itself (racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness) become evidence that something is wrong, which creates more anxiety, more symptoms, and a loop that's hard to escape.
Health anxiety is real, and it's not about being dramatic or weak. It's a specific pattern, one where the mind assigns danger to bodily sensations and responds with urgency that feels completely justified. The problem isn't that you're paying attention to your health. It's that the alarm keeps going off even when there's nothing wrong.
Therapy for health anxiety typically uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which is the most well-researched approach. Together with your therapist, you'll examine the thoughts and behaviours that keep the anxiety cycle running, particularly the checking, reassurance-seeking, and avoidance behaviours that feel helpful in the short term but make things worse over time.
You'll also learn to sit with uncertainty, which is, ultimately, what health anxiety is really about. Not the symptoms themselves, but the unbearable not-knowing. Therapy helps you build a different relationship with that uncertainty, one where it doesn't have to send you into a spiral.
Health anxiety often connects with panic attack therapy, since the physical symptoms of panic can feel impossible to distinguish from a medical event. If panic attacks are part of your experience, that page goes deeper.
Email, phone, or fill out our booking form. There's no script and no pressure. You can share as much or as little as you want.
A real person, not a bot, will reply as soon as we can with a few options for a free 15-minute consultation.
We listen. You ask questions. No paperwork, no obligation. If we're not the right match, we'll point you toward someone who might be.
Direct billing where possible. Evening and weekend availability. Virtual or in-person in Ottawa.
Sessions are 50 minutes in length. Rates vary by therapist and are confirmed during your free consultation. We accept e-transfer and credit cards, and direct-bill most insurers.
Sliding-scale spots are available based on need. Ask during your free consultation.
Same 50-minute format, structured for two participants and shared concerns.
Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker services are covered by most extended health plans in Canada. We recommend confirming your specific coverage before your first paid session. Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, and most major insurers include coverage.
We direct-bill where your insurer allows it. Otherwise, you pay at the time of session and submit the receipt for reimbursement.
Every session generates a receipt listing the provider's license number, suitable for insurance reimbursement.
In-person sessions are held at our Ottawa office. Virtual sessions use a secure, PIPEDA-compliant video platform. You can switch between the two.
We ask for 24 hours notice on cancellations. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full session fee.
After the free 15-minute consultation, your first paid session is intake-focused. Bring questions, anything you have already tried, and any goals you have in mind.
QUESTIONS
Health anxiety is persistent worry that you have or will develop a serious illness, driven by checking, googling, and reassurance-seeking. The relief from reassurance is brief, then the worry returns. It is a recognized, treatable anxiety pattern.
Mainly with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Together you reduce the checking and reassurance behaviours that keep the cycle going, and build tolerance for uncertainty, which is what health anxiety is really about.
Some health awareness is healthy. The issue is when worry is constant, hard to switch off, and driving behaviours like repeated checking or doctor visits that do not bring lasting relief. Therapy helps you find a calmer middle ground.
No. Keep your regular medical care. Therapy is not about ignoring your health; it is about changing the anxious patterns around it so you can respond to real concerns without being ruled by fear.
Therapy is a longer-term relationship. If you're in acute distress, please reach the services below first. They are free, confidential, and available right now.
