Therapy for Health Anxiety

If you live with health anxiety, you’ll know how consuming it can feel. A twinge, a cough, a sensation in your body and suddenly your mind races to the worst possible explanation. Perhaps you find yourself checking symptoms online, seeking reassurance, or avoiding medical settings altogether.

Therapy for health anxiety offers a space to understand what sits beneath those fears. It isn’t about dismissing your worries, but about gently exploring why they hold such power. Many people discover that their anxiety is trying, in its own way, to protect them, even as it causes distress.

In our sessions, we can begin to bring curiosity and compassion to your experience, helping you move from constant vigilance towards something steadier and more grounded.

What is Therapy for Health Anxiety?

Therapy for health anxiety is a process of understanding both the mind and the body. We might explore how anxiety shows up physically - the racing heart, the tight chest, the endless scanning for danger, and what emotional experiences might be fuelling those sensations.

Rather than focusing solely on symptoms, we look at the stories you tell yourself about illness, safety and control. These stories often have roots in earlier experiences when health, uncertainty or loss felt overwhelming.

Through this process, therapy can help you begin to relate to your anxiety differently. It may not disappear overnight, but over time, you may find it becomes less consuming, and you’re able to live with greater ease and perspective.

Signs You Might Benefit from Therapy

You might be considering therapy for health anxiety if you often find yourself preoccupied with your body or worried that something serious is wrong. Perhaps you’ve been told “it’s just anxiety” but that doesn’t make the fear go away.

You may notice that you:

• Constantly check your body for symptoms

• Frequently research illnesses or seek medical reassurance

• Avoid doctors or medical information altogether

• Struggle to believe medical reassurance when you receive it

• Feel tense, restless or overwhelmed by physical sensations

• Experience intrusive thoughts about illness, death or loss

Health anxiety can affect anyone. It’s not a sign of weakness or overreacting, it’s often a reflection of how the mind tries to make sense of fear and uncertainty. Therapy can help you begin to understand that process with compassion, rather than self-criticism.

How Therapy for Health Anxiety Works

Therapy begins with a conversation about what’s been happening for you. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable. We’ll explore what triggers your health anxiety, how it shows up in your body, and what thoughts or memories tend to accompany it.

Therapy for health anxiety may include exploring the emotions that sit beneath your worries, such as fear, grief or a need for control. We might also look at ways to ground yourself in moments of panic or rumination, so the anxiety feels less overpowering.

The process is gentle and collaborative. Over time, you may begin to notice more space between your thoughts and your fears - a sense that you can observe your anxiety, rather than being caught inside it.

My Expertise and Approach

I trained at the Minster Centre, one of the leading psychotherapy institutions in the UK. My approach is integrative, meaning I draw from a range of therapeutic traditions to suit each person’s needs including psychodynamic, humanistic and mindfulness-based approaches.

I’ve worked with clients experiencing a wide range of difficulties, including anxiety, health anxiety, trauma, and loss. My role is not to offer quick solutions, but to help you feel understood and supported as you make sense of your experiences.

Many of my clients find that therapy for health anxiety can help them begin to trust their bodies again - not because every worry disappears, but because they develop a gentler, more balanced relationship with their thoughts and sensations.

The Benefits of Therapy for Health Anxiety

Every person’s experience of therapy is unique. There’s no fixed path or promise, only the space to explore what’s happening for you and how it might begin to shift.

Many people describe therapy for health anxiety as a gradual process of softening. Over time, you may begin to:

• Feel calmer and more connected to your body

• Worry less frequently or intensely about symptoms

• Develop trust in medical reassurance

• Find perspective when anxiety arises

• Feel less driven to check, research or seek reassurance

• Experience moments of peace where your body no longer feels like the enemy

These changes often happen slowly, as understanding deepens and self-compassion grows. Therapy doesn’t erase uncertainty, but it can help you live alongside it with more ease and confidence.

Why Contact Me?

✓ Trained at the Minster Centre, one of the UK’s leading psychotherapy institutions

✓ Experienced in supporting people with anxiety, depression, grief, stress and burnout

✓ Over two years working in a bereavement service, alongside specialist work

✓ An integrative therapist, drawing from different traditions to tailor therapy to each person

✓ A background in working with activists, changemakers, leaders and ex-boarders

✓ Committed to creating a safe, empathic and collaborative therapeutic space

Start Your Therapy Journey Today

If you'd like an introductory session, please email me or message me using the details below. Alternatively, please schedule a call using calendly.

Phone

+44 7356 082880

Email

andrew.tobert@gmail.com

Location

231 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6PJ or Online

FAQs About Therapy for Health Anxiety

What is therapy for health anxiety?

Therapy for health anxiety offers a safe and supportive space to explore your worries about illness, symptoms and the body. It’s not about convincing you that nothing is wrong, but about understanding the thoughts, emotions and experiences that make uncertainty feel so hard to bear.

How is therapy for health anxiety different from other kinds of therapy?

While all therapy is centred on understanding yourself more deeply, therapy for health anxiety focuses specifically on your relationship with the body, illness and fear. We explore how anxiety shows up physically and emotionally, and what patterns or past experiences might be driving it.

Do I need a diagnosis to start therapy?

No. You don’t need a diagnosis or referral to begin. Some people come to therapy already aware that health anxiety is affecting their life; others arrive simply feeling stuck in cycles of worry or fear. Therapy can be a space to make sense of those experiences at your own pace.

Can therapy stop me worrying about my health?

Therapy isn’t about erasing worry altogether. Health anxiety often stems from a natural concern for safety, it’s just that the worry has become overwhelming. Over time, therapy can help you relate to your thoughts differently, so they feel less consuming and easier to manage.

What if I’m afraid something really is wrong with me?

That’s a completely understandable fear. Therapy can help you hold both possibilities at once - that anxiety might be amplifying your concern, and that your body deserves care and attention. We’ll approach this gently, without judgment or pressure.

Do you offer online sessions?

Yes. I offer both in-person therapy in Hackney, East London, and online sessions for those who prefer to meet remotely. Many people find that online therapy offers flexibility and a sense of comfort, especially when exploring anxiety-related themes.