Anxiety & Panic Care
Anxiety treatment for minds that won’t switch off
Some anxiety is useful. The kind that keeps you up at 2am rehearsing conversations, tightens your chest in traffic, and never lets you feel finished — that kind is treatable. We help adults across Newport Beach and California turn the volume down.
In person in Newport Beach · Telehealth across California · Adults 18–65
The many disguises of anxiety
Anxiety is not just worry — it lives in the body, the calendar, and the 2am ceiling stare.
- Racing thoughts the moment your head hits the pillow
- A pounding heart or tight chest out of nowhere
- Avoiding freeways, flights, or phone calls
- Worst-case scenarios playing on repeat
- Always “on” — rest never feels restful
- Irritability and muscle tension you can’t explain
How we treat anxiety and panic
- 1
Sort out what kind
Generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, and health anxiety respond to different approaches. A careful evaluation — including medical look-alikes like thyroid and heart rhythm issues — comes first.
- 2
Calm the alarm system
First-line medications for anxiety are effective and non-habit-forming. We choose with you, start low, and follow up closely — the goal is a quieter baseline, not sedation.
- 3
Retrain the brain
Medication makes the work easier; skills make it last. We coordinate with CBT therapists, teach practical tools for panic, and help you stop avoiding the things you miss.
Panic attacks, explained
A panic attack is a false alarm — your body’s full emergency response firing without an emergency. It peaks within minutes and always passes, even though it feels like it won’t.
Panic is one of the most treatable problems we see. The first episode deserves a medical check; after that, treatment works remarkably well.
Take the GAD-7 screening7 questions · about 2 minutes · scored on this page, nothing is saved
This screening is private — the scoring happens in your browser and nothing you enter is transmitted or saved. Bring the result to your first appointment, or don’t. Either way it’s a faster start than describing everything from scratch.
Care from people who listen
Koehler Mental Health & Wellness is a psychiatric practice in Newport Beach. Our providers — Ricky Koehler, DNP, PMHNP-BC, Amanda Benvenuto, PMHNP-BC, and Nicholas Cory-Duffy, PMHNP, MSN — are all accepting new patients.
Insurance-friendly
In-network with Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross, and Carelon Behavioral Health. Self-pay: $300 initial evaluation, $150 follow-ups.
In person or online
Visit us at 1000 Quail Street in Newport Beach, or meet by secure video from anywhere in California.
Unhurried, evidence-based
Real evaluations, careful medication management, and coordination with your therapist. Meet our providers →
Questions we hear a lot
How do I know it was a panic attack and not my heart?
You don’t have to guess — a first episode of chest pain or a racing heart deserves a medical evaluation. Once cardiac causes are ruled out, recurrent episodes with rapid peak and fear of losing control are typically panic, and panic responds very well to treatment.
Will anti-anxiety medication make me feel flat or dependent?
Our first-line choices are non-addictive and, dosed correctly, should make you feel like yourself with the volume turned down — not numb. We monitor for emotional blunting and adjust if it appears.
Does telehealth actually work for anxiety?
Yes — anxiety care is one of the best-studied uses of telehealth, and many patients engage more easily from home. California residents can do everything by video; Newport Beach locals can come in when preferred.
Imagine your mind, quieter.
One appointment to map what’s happening and make a plan. In person in Newport Beach or by video across California.
New patients welcome · Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross & Carelon in-network · Read our FAQ
We also treat: Depression · ADHD · Bipolar Disorder · PTSD & Trauma · OCD · Insomnia — or see everything we treat.