Anxiety Mastery Program

I Have Retired

As of 1-1-18 I am retired from all Psychology Practice.

All the best to all the wonderful people I have had the privilege to work with! All of you have taught me a great deal, of which I am eternally grateful to.

If you were a client of mine at the Anxiety and Panic Treatment Center, LLC in Portland, Dr. Robert McLellarn can likely see you as needed and the client records are there.

If you were a client of mine in my Vancouver solo practice and need information, please proceed the following way:
Have your new therapist contact me at drzuercher@drzuercher.com with his or her license number. The person will need to send me a written authorization signed by you, for me to furnish a summary of our past treatment.

Sincerely,
Elke Zuercher-White, Ph.D., ABPP

Anxiety Mastery Program

If you have come to this website, you will probably answer yes to one or more of the questions below.

Are you tired of:

• Running scared?
• Being anxious all the time?
• Wishing you felt confident like so many people around you?
• Worrying too much?
• Fear certain situations, sensations, or thoughts?

You may feel:

• Self-conscious about seeking help for your social fears.
• Great shame and stigma for having unacceptable, repugnant thoughts.

I am very familiar with all of these problems and have helped many people to overcome them.

Since you may have put off seeking help, doubting whether you can get better or fearing the work involved, it is important for you to know that there really is HOPE. Research and clinical experience have shown us that people can improve, either overcoming their anxiety disorder or at least getting the upper hand and not being controlled by it.

In my AMP practice in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA, I try to help individuals like you to learn new ways of acting and thinking: to approach rather than avoid, to face rather than run from feared sensations, and to temper the compelling need of your mind to ruminate and worry.

Third-Generation Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT)

At AMP, the main treatment approach is Cognitive-Behavioral. This involves a two-pronged focus, cognitive and behavioral exposures and practices. There are specific approaches and techniques aimed at work with panic, phobias, chronic worry, obsessions and compulsions.

In recent years, components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have been incorporated into CBT. This entails learning in a larger scale not to run from internal events that are uncomfortable, be they sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories, or other experiences. It also emphasizes pursuing one’s values in life rather than being totally immersed in the difficulties one experiences. This is why the term “Third-Generation CBT” is employed.

Research has demonstrated that the closer one adheres to the cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol, the better the results. However, above and beyond the basic approaches, as CBT research is maturing, new findings continue to emerge about specific techniques, methods, and nuances in the work. At AMP, these are incorporated as they emerge.