Illness Anxiety Disorder Therapy in Denver | Evidence-Based Treatment for Health Anxiety
If you are constantly worried about your health, scanning your body for symptoms, or fearing that something serious has been missed, you are not alone, and effective treatment is available. I’m Josh Kaplan, LCSW, and I provide evidence-based anxiety therapy in Denver and throughout Colorado, helping teens and adults break these patterns and regain a sense of calm and confidence.
Meet Josh Kaplan, LCSW
Denver Anxiety and Panic Disorder Specialist
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing exclusively in anxiety disorders, including illness anxiety disorder. My practice is focused on evidence-based treatment rather than general counseling.
Training and Treatment Approach
My work is grounded in CBT, exposure therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, with over a decade of specialized experience treating anxiety-based conditions. Treatment is practical, direct, and focused on restoring freedom rather than managing symptoms.
Over a decade of exclusive specialization in treating Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Advanced expertise in CBT, Exposure Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Structured, clear, actionable, and collaborative treatment that helps clients understand the “why” behind each step of therapy
Contributing member of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
The Health Anxiety Cycle That Keeps You Stuck
What Illness Anxiety Disorder Really Is
Illness anxiety disorder is not about being careless or overly dramatic about health. It is driven by a heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations and uncertainty. Normal physical sensations such as fatigue, discomfort, aches, lumps, or changes in the body are interpreted as signs of serious illness, triggering fear and urgency.
How Fear, Checking, and Reassurance Reinforce Health Anxiety
When anxiety about health arises, people naturally seek relief by checking symptoms, researching online, seeking reassurance from others or medical providers, or repeatedly monitoring the body. While these behaviors reduce anxiety temporarily, they teach the brain that the threat was real. Over time, the nervous system becomes more reactive, symptoms feel more alarming, and anxiety becomes more persistent.
Why Talk Therapy Alone Often Isn’t Enough for Illness Anxiety
How Reassurance and Monitoring Maintain Anxiety
Traditional talk therapy often emphasizes reassurance and emotional validation. In illness anxiety disorder, reassurance-seeking and repeated discussions about symptoms can unintentionally become compulsive behaviors, reinforcing the belief that certainty is required to feel safe.
Why Insight Does Not Stop Health Anxiety
Many people with health anxiety understand that their fears may be exaggerated, yet still feel intense distress when symptoms appear. Health anxiety is maintained by fear-based learning and intolerance of uncertainty, not a lack of insight. Effective treatment must change how you respond to bodily sensations and uncertainty in real time.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy: The Gold-Standard Treatment for Illness Anxiety Disorder
How Evidence-Based Health Anxiety Treatment Works
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with exposure therapy is considered the gold-standard treatment for illness anxiety disorder. Treatment focuses on reducing fear of bodily sensations, uncertainty, and health-related thoughts rather than trying to eliminate them.
Exposure to Uncertainty and Sensations
Exposure therapy for health anxiety involves intentionally allowing uncertainty, resisting checking or reassurance, and learning to tolerate bodily sensations without reacting. Over time, the nervous system learns that uncertainty and discomfort are safe and manageable.
What You Learn Through Treatment
Treatment helps you disengage from monitoring, reduce reassurance-seeking, and build tolerance for uncertainty. As a result, anxiety decreases, intrusive health fears become less frequent, and many people regain a sense of safety within their own body and mind.
Why Specialized Health Anxiety Treatment Matters
Health Anxiety Requires Exposure-Based Precision
While many therapists offer CBT, effective treatment for illness anxiety disorder requires careful identification of avoidance patterns and subtle safety behaviors, along with specialized training in exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is a distinct area of specialization that not all therapists are trained in. My work is grounded in advanced training in both CBT and exposure-based treatments, allowing therapy to target the specific fears and beliefs keeping you trapped at home.
How Symptom Management Can Reinforce Fear
When treatment focuses primarily on relaxation skills, reassurance, or symptom control, progress often plateaus. Specialized, exposure-based treatment targets the underlying fear-learning mechanisms, leading to lasting recovery rather than temporary relief.
The Benefits of Online Illness Anxiety Therapy in Denver and Throughout Colorado
Practicing Treatment in Real-Life Contexts
Online therapy allows health anxiety treatment to take place in the environments where fears arise, such as at home, while using technology, or during moments when bodily sensations trigger worry.
Applying Newly Learned Skills in Daily Life
Because exposure and response prevention strategies are practiced in real time, treatment is more targeted and effective. Skills learned in session are immediately applied to daily life.
What to Expect From Online Health Anxiety Therapy
Sessions are structured, supportive, and collaborative. Online illness anxiety disorder therapy is offered throughout Colorado, and many clients begin to see meaningful improvement within 8–12 sessions.
Illness Anxiety Disorder Therapy in Denver and Across Colorado
My passion is helping people recover from anxiety disorders, including health, and illness anxiety disorder. Whether symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck, I encourage you to reach out and schedule a free online consultation. We can discuss your current symptoms and explore what exposure-based treatment would look like for your specific situation, tailored to your individual needs and goals.
Online Health Anxiety Therapy Services
I provide online illness anxiety disorder therapy for clients throughout Colorado, making specialized care accessible regardless of location.
Serving Denver and Surrounding Areas
This includes Denver, Aurora, Littleton, Centennial, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, and other communities across the state.
Get Started With Illness Anxiety Disorder Therapy in Denver
If Anxiety or OCD has been controlling more of your life than you want, help is available. With the right treatment, it is possible to break out of the cycle and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
I offer a free 20 minute online consultation to answer questions, discuss your symptoms, and help you determine whether my approach is the right fit.
CBT 4 Anxiety