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NEW: Group Therapy For Anxiety :
Los Angeles & West Hollywood
If you're looking for group therapy for anxiety, find out more about our new and effective group therapy treatment program launching soon in Los Angeles and West Hollywood.
Our groups have room for a max of 8 adults, and run for six weeks, and offers and innovative treatment based in LA. We help people with social anxiety disorder, worrying, overthinking and perfectionism based anxiety.
For Therapists Looking For Group Referals:
If you're a clinician and are looking for a group to support your client, there's some information on this page that might be helpful - including how we can work together and a bit more on how the group works.
Group Psychotherapy For Anxiety:
As a therapist who has been working with people with anxiety disorders for nearly a decade, my goal hope in forming this safe space for group discussions is to provide a time-sensitive and affordable option for people looking for personal growth and mental health treatment.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a protective system in our body that's meant to be a natural alarm system responding to perceived threats or uncertainty. When you experience anxiety, you're having a completely normal human response—your mind and body are trying to protect you by heightening your awareness and preparing you to handle potential challenges.
For some of us, that alarm system has taken over - and it's goal is not only to keep us safe, but also keeps us small and separate.
Ready To Stop Anxiety From Running Your Life?
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Do you feel caught in a relentless cycle or worry and overthinking?
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Maybe you're sick of the constant second-guessing fueled that doubt and worry brings?
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Or is social anxiety leaving you feeling disconnected or limiting?
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Maybe you're totally over the search for more relaxation techniques or mindfulness skills?
Time For A New Attitude? (Towards Anxiety)
Anxiety operates as a complex combination of psychological defenses, emotional and physiological reactions and distorted thought patterns. An easier way of understanding this is to think of anxiety having tricked us into following a set of rules - the rules keep us safe, but also keep us feeling anxious.
Perhaps you're feeling
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Caught in a relentless cycle or worry and overthinking?
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Maybe you're sick of the constant second-guessing fueled that doubt and worry brings?
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Or is social anxiety leaving you feeling disconnected or limiting?
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Maybe you're totally over the search for more relaxation techniques or mindfulness skills?
Where To Find Oliver Drakeford Therapy:
Oliver Drakeford Therapy is located at 8702 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood CA 900069.
Group Psychotherapy For Anxiety Disorders in Los Angeles - With Teeth.
More than just a support group, the six week group psychotherapy program is an intensive experience that has the goal of redefining your relationship with anxiety.
This group goes deeper - it's a cognitive reframing of your entire relationship with anxiety. We're not hating on coping skills and mindfulness - but our approach is systemic, transformative and slightly more devious - because sometimes, psychological treatments need to have an attitude.
Your group leader will create a safe space, as all group psychotherapy practices should, and then lead you on a journey of personal growth:
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We will shift you from playing a defensive game to offense ...when it comes to anxiety disorders.
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Through strategic, experiential and cognitive behavioral group therapy approaches, we'll help you see anxiety as a predictable opponent whose rulebook you can learn to defy.
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Our group CBT dynamic will give practical therapeutic approaches and skills to social phobia, generalized anxiety disorders or worry.
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Your group leader will help you understand the cognitive functions of anxiety, the traps it keeps you locked in so you canexperience shifts in how they respond.
This Isn't About Eliminating Anxiety, It's About Changing the Game.
Built on effective therapeutic principles, this course empowers you and other participants with a new perspective on anxiety disorders as well as helping you use, learn and create actionable tools.
How We Approach Treatment For Anxiety Is Different.
We're committed to lasting transformation—not just temporary relief. This means we approach things differently than you might have experienced before. Think of it less as breaking rules and more as choosing a path that actually leads somewhere meaningful.
We Focus on Transformation, Not Just Coping
Think of coping skills as a helpful rest stop on a road trip, they're not the destination.
We help individuals with anxiety focus on changing your fundamental relationship with anxiety, not just managing its symptoms. That means cognitive-restructuring and more.
We Embrace Anxiety As Information, Not A Feared Enemy.
We recognize that constantly fighting anxiety often gives it more power—like struggling in quicksand. Anxiety is a human signal, and while we can't (and shouldn't) eliminate it entirely, we can help you stop taking orders from it. You'll learn to function powerfully even when anxiety shows up.
We Build Courage, Not Just Comfort
We know that social anxiety disorder, worry and overthinking can mean that you can sometimes miss out on life. Like learning to swim, you can't master it from the side of the pool.
We teach you to tolerate uncertainty and the feelings of anxiety, to leand into them - with the help of your support group, and to build genuine resilience, not false safety.
We Question Thoughts, Not Just Accept Them
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Mental health professionals, myself included, can get caught up in problem solving, but effective mental health treatment needs to go deeper.
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Our group psychotherapy program creates a supportive space to help you become curious about your thoughts rather than controlled by them.
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You'll develop the skills of a scientist, detective, and judge—observing, investigating, and evaluating your internal experience. Feelings are valid, but they're not always accurate.
Are you looking for effective treatment options to help manage persistent anxiety?
Anxiety group therapy offers a unique and powerful approach to improving your mental health in a supportive environment -even for people with social anxiety disorder. Your group leader is an experienced therapist, this form of therapy brings together individuals who share similar challenges from social anxiety disorder to panic disorder creating a space where you feel understood and less alone.
Unlike individual therapy, anxiety group therapy provides the added benefit of shared experience. A well-trained group leader will allow time to hear from others navigating similar social fears or internal struggles - this can be incredibly validating.
Our groups often incorporate principles from evidence-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy and strategic systemic therapy. But we're not just focused on theory but on practical skills development.
We help you understand the common patterns anxiety uses – what we sometimes call the 'anxiety hijack' – where anxious thoughts trigger alarms and lead to unhelpful reactions like avoidance or excessive worry.
In our safe environment, your group leader will help you learn to recognize these cycles of fears and worry and share the skills to break free from them.
This group setting provides real-time opportunities to practice new ways of relating to anxiety, improving your social anxiety, and understanding symptoms of generalized anxiety.
Our anxiety treatment group is designed to help people move beyond short-term coping strategies and instead build long-term, evidence-based skills for managing anxiety.
This isn’t just about symptom relief—it’s about reshaping how you respond to stress, uncertainty, and fear. Group members learn to step out of the anxiety cycle by understanding how avoidance and over-control often backfire.
This supportive mental health program helps individuals shift their focus from what they're anxious about to how anxiety works in their lives. Through a CBT (cognitive behavioral) informed approach, we support group members to recognize anxiety’s patterns, manage uncomfortable feelings, and reduce the mental exhaustion that comes from overthinking social interactions or perceived threats.
In our sessions, members will:
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Recognize and understand anxiety’s rules and how they affect daily relationships and decisions
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Understand why trying to suppress thoughts or control outcomes often makes things worse
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Learn to respond with willingness and flexibility, even in uncertain situations
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Develop skills to manage stress and emotions using proven psychological principles that help with cognitive restructuring around fear.
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Connect with others who share similar experiences in a safe, supportive group environment
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Gain confidence navigating social situations and internal challenges
This is not about eliminating anxiety—your group leader is going to help you start to reclaim your mental space and making choices that support your growth, well-being, and connection to others.
Group Therapy In Los Angeles
Group therapy offers numerous benefits by providing individuals with a supportive environment to explore personal issues alongside others facing similar challenges. Unlike sessions with an individual therapist, group settings allow people to meet and connect, fostering a sense of belonging and reducing feelings of isolation.
This social environment helps individuals learn from each other's experiences, offering diverse perspectives and coping strategies. Participants have the opportunity to practice social skills in real-time, receiving immediate feedback that can enhance self-awareness and interpersonal effectiveness. Moreover, group therapy can complement individual therapy, as insights gained in one setting can enrich progress in the other.
Overall, group therapy empowers individuals to address their concerns collectively, promoting personal growth and resilience through shared understanding and mutual support.
Certified Group Psychotherapist: Oliver Drakeford LMFT, CGP
I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Certified Group Psychotherapist, which means I've gone above and beyond the requirements of my Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology to study group process and group facilitation. The certification is through AGPA - an outstanding organization aimed at helping and training group therapists across the world.
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Therapists! Looking for Anxiety Group Referrals?
Hi! Thanks for considering the anxiety group at Oliver Drakeford Therapy - here's some important information on how we can support your client (and you).
We Are Team Players!
Our group is a short-term six week program which is intended to be a stand-alone service and is the perfect companion for a client who is already in therapy.
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If your client seems stuck, or it feels like they need an extra layer of support
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If your clients might appreciate the social connection that comes from group therapy
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If you think your client might need a different way of dealing with anxiety and a fresh perspective on how to manage anxiety symptoms.
We want to support the long-term work you're doing with your client and add to it with an 'anxiety bootcamp' approach that is designed to create new ways of thinking in your client and a LOT for you to process and understand together.
Here's our plan:
ROI
Assuming your client agrees, we'll get an ROI signed so we can keep you posted on progress and goals and significant break -throughts
Assessments
Part of our intake process is a battery of assessments which we'll happily share after the 6 weeks.(with permission obvisouly.
Onboarding
If it would be helpful to both or all of you, we can try to schedule part of the intake online and you're welcome to be part of that.
Discharge
After the six week program we can either connect over the phone or email and give you a summary and wrap up.
The Clinical Component
If you're curious about how our approach might enhance and add to the terrific work you're already doing - here's some of the clinical concepts we use:
Intolerance Of Uncertainty
Our approach is centered around the intolerance of uncertainty being the driving force behind anxiety disorders and borrows from CBT-IU - it's fascinating stuff!
Inferential Confusion
Another new model that's getting a lot of attention is Inferential Confusion. Data is showing this as the process behind OCD and worry.
Paradoxical and
Psychodrama
With only six-weeks to make an impact or see change, we use a combination of experiential techniques such as psychodrama and strategic interventions
Read more (coming soon)
Feel free to email me if you'd like to talk more before you sent a client our way -I'd be happy to chat with you and answer your questions. I look forward to working with you!