CBT for Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder in Los Angeles

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When Panic Starts Setting Your Schedule

Most people who search for CBT for panic attacks in Los Angeles aren’t in crisis. They’re functioning, holding down a job, showing up for their family, and quietly rearranging everything around the next attack. You take the aisle seat. You skip the freeway. You scan every room for the exit.

The exhausting part isn’t only the attacks themselves. It’s the constant negotiation with your own body between the attacks, and the creeping sense that your world is getting smaller while you manage it.

You don’t have to be in free fall to deserve treatment, and you’re not too far along for it to work. Panic runs on a predictable cycle, and predictable cycles can be changed.

How We Treat Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder at CBT LA

In the first one or two sessions, your psychologist maps your specific panic cycle: the exact sensations you notice first, the catastrophic thought that follows, often “I’m having a heart attack” or “I’m about to lose control,” and what you do to escape it. From there, treatment targets that cycle directly. You’ll do cognitive work to test the scary stories your mind attaches to ordinary body sensations. This isn’t forced positive thinking; it’s landing on a more accurate read, like “my heart is pounding because my alarm system switched on, and it has always come back down.”

You’ll do interoceptive exposure therapy, deliberately bringing on feared sensations like a racing heart or lightheadedness in a controlled setting, so your nervous system learns they aren’t dangerous. And you’ll do situational exposure, returning to the places panic pushed you out of: the freeway, the grocery store, the crowded theater. Where it helps, your psychologist also folds in mindfulness and acceptance skills, so you can let a wave of sensation rise and fall instead of fighting it. Most of the work between sessions is short, roughly 10 to 15 minutes of focused practice a day.

Progress isn’t a guess. You and your psychologist track panic frequency, avoidance, and distress with brief weekly questionnaires and 0 to 10 ratings, and review them together every few sessions to decide what to adjust. CBT for panic disorder is structured as a course of weekly 50-minute sessions with daily practice between them. What you leave with is a repeatable method for meeting panic sensations without them escalating and needing to escape, so a racing heart stops deciding where you can go.

You don’t need to know where to start. A free 15-minute consultation is where we figure that out together.

Free 15-minute consultation. No pressure to schedule.

What to Expect

Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly. You can meet your psychologist in person at our Westwood and Brentwood offices on Wilshire Boulevard, at our Pasadena office near Old Town, or by secure video anywhere in California. Evening and weekend openings are often available; ask when you call.

Every therapist at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, designating us as experts in the field. We’re an out-of-network practice. Many PPO plans reimburse 50 to 80 percent of out-of-network therapy, and we provide a superbill for every session. Plenty of clients are surprised that out-of-network reimbursement applies to therapy at all. Before you commit to anything, we walk you through your benefits so you have a realistic picture of your out-of-pocket cost, not a surprise later. We also accept HSA and FSA cards.

If commuting across the city is part of what panic has made hard, telehealth lets you start treatment without driving to do it.

Why Choose CBT LA for Panic Treatment

Every Session Is With a Doctoral-Level Psychologist

At many group practices, your intake is with a senior clinician, and your ongoing care is handed to a more junior master ’s-level clinician, like a marriage and family therapist (MFT). That doesn’t happen here. All of our therapists hold a PsyD or a PhD, several hold faculty appointments at top psychology programs, and the person who assesses your panic is the person who treats it. Panic is not a side specialty here; treating anxiety and panic is core to what we do. For a problem where trust and precise exposure planning decide whether treatment works, the level of training in the room is important.

Two LA Offices Plus Statewide California Telehealth

Panic and avoidance often turn travel itself into a barrier, so we took that off the table as a reason not to start. We see clients in person in Westwood and Brentwood and in Pasadena, and by secure video anywhere in California, from Beverly Hills to the Bay Area. Telehealth here isn’t a watered-down version; it’s the same protocol and the same weekly tracking, delivered over secure video. You can begin in person and switch to video on a hard week, or do the entire course online, and your treatment plan stays the same either way.

See whether structured CBT for panic is the right fit for your situation.

The consultation is free, and you’re under no obligation to book a session afterward.

Panic Treatment FAQ

Won’t facing my panic symptoms on purpose make them worse?

No. Exposure is graded and collaborative. You start with what feels manageable, never your worst fear on day one, and you build skills first. You and your psychologist agree on every step, track your distress, and move at a pace you set.

What actually happens in the first session?

Your psychologist asks about your panic history, your triggers, and what you’ve already tried, then begins mapping your specific panic cycle. You’ll leave the first session with language for what’s happening and a clear sense of where treatment is headed.

What makes CBT LA different from other panic therapists in LA?

We treat panic with a specific, measured protocol: interoceptive and situational exposure plus cognitive restructuring, rather than open-ended talk. We track panic and avoidance weekly, so you and your psychologist can see whether treatment is working and adjust it if it isn’t.

What if CBT isn’t the right fit for me?

Then we’ll tell you. The free 15-minute consultation is available so both sides can assess fit before anyone commits. If panic isn’t what’s actually going on, or another approach suits you better, we’ll point you toward it. You’re not obligated to book a session.

Is online CBT for panic attacks as effective as in-person?

For most people, yes. Research has shown that virtual therapy is as effective as in-person therapy. The core ingredients, cognitive work, exposure planning, and weekly tracking, all translate to secure video. Some exposures are even easier online, because you practice in your real environment, like your own car or kitchen, with your psychologist on the call.

Take the Next Step

Panic shrinks your world one canceled plan at a time. Structured CBT is how you start expanding it again. Your first move is small: a free 15-minute phone consultation to talk through what’s happening, ask questions, and see whether we’re the right fit. There’s no commitment beyond the call.

We see clients in Westwood, Brentwood, and Pasadena, and online throughout California.

The hardest part is the first call. It takes just a few minutes.

Start with a no-obligation call.

Medically Reviewed by Albert Bonfil, PsyD.

Updated June, 2026.

Sources Cited:

* Craske, M. G., Maidenberg, E., & Bystritsky, A. (1995). Brief cognitive-behavioral versus nondirective therapy for panic disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 26(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7916(95)00003-I

** Barlow, D. H., Gorman, J. M., Shear, M. K., & Woods, S. W. (2000). Cognitive-behavioral therapy, imipramine, or their combination for panic disorder: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 283(19), 2529–2536. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.19.2529