Anxiety Therapy and Grief Counseling in Orange County CA

Grief Counseling in Orange County, CA

Life's unexpected challenges can leave you feeling utterly lost.

The heavy weight of grief can make each day feel like a mountain to climb. Overwhelmed, restless, or completely exhausted, daily life is hard to manage. Difficulty concentrating, ruminating thoughts of the loss, frequent crying- is it a wonder that tasks that once seemed so simple now demand every ounce of energy? Your life has changed, and yet, the world keeps moving as though nothing has happened. You’re left wondering, “Is this the new normal? Will I ever feel peace again?”

Anxiety Therapy in Orange County CA

The emotional and physical toll can be staggering. Sleepless nights, racing thoughts, the pit in your stomach that never quite goes away—these are experiences that make you feel unmoored from your own life. Guilt, fear, and self-doubt creep in, and some days, it’s hard to even remember what joy felt like. You may find yourself second-guessing everything, consumed by “what ifs” and “if onlys.” The constant pressure of anxiety, fear taking the place of calm, pushing you to the brink as you try to stay in control. Life becomes filled with invisible barriers, and even the smallest moments can seem insurmountable.

But you don’t have to go through this alone.

Counseling & Therapy for Anxiety and Grief with Anne Marie Ruta Buchanan, LPCC, BC-DMT

Therapy with me offers a safe space to explore these feelings—to untangle the confusion, calm the unease, and take steps forward in a way that honors your experience. Together, we’ll work through the pain, reconnect with yourself, and find ways to create a future that feels manageable—and one day, perhaps even hopeful.

If you’re ready to start, I’m here to help. My name is Anne Marie Ruta Buchanan, Anxiety Therapist and Grief Counselor in Orange County.

I’m here for you.

As a compassionate grief counselor, I gently accompany you in exploring the raw and intense pain in grief, and create a safe space to feel the feelings, talk about the alarming thoughts, mourn the loss, and understand and support the realities of the brain and body in grief. I offer resources and practices that can help you with the difficult day to day life with loss. Together we begin to focus on creating a new version of a life very much worth living.

As a caring and patient anxiety therapist who “gets it,” I work with you to find ways to calm the storm and soothe a stressed and overtaxed mind and body. In the session I expose you to psychoeducation about the biological effects of anxiety and provide resources to turn off the alarm and quell worry, rumination, and restlessness. I address anxiety of all kinds- worry, anxiety disorders such as health anxiety, driving anxiety, fears and phobias, OCD, panic disorder. Together we work together to put anxiety in the back seat so it no longer drives your life. You can now decide how you want to live.

Grief Counseling and Anxiety Therapy in Orange County CA- Talk, Walk, or Dance Therapy

I offer what is usually considered as “talk” therapy, where dialogue is the medium used to communicate either in the office or virtually. In addition, I offer the opportunity to get outside of the office and talk while we walk in the natural surroundings. Also, as a Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, I can provide the somatic experience of Dance Movement Therapy that weaves discussion and bodily movement to attend to grief and anxiety. As a dance therapist in Orange County, I help guide you in expressing those thoughts and feelings that words fail to adequately describe. I have found movement therapy to be highly effective and very transformative for my clients who are willing to incorporate this method in therapy. You do not need to be a dancer or athlete or mover of any kind to get the benefits of body movement as a resource in healing. We can all access the wisdom of the body.

I know it can feel like a big step to call a therapist, but I’ll make it easy. We’ll spend 15-minutes on the phone and I’ll let you know how or if I can help. Click below to get started. My specialties include grief, loss and bereavement, anxiety, and, if you choose, an embodied approach of dance/movement therapy.