Welcome to the Awakened Heart Therapy
Anxiety Counseling and Therapy Services in Tempe for Adults
Tempe Therapist Taana Abbitt, LCSW Helps High Functioning Professionals Calm Anxiety and Trust Themselves Again
Are you looking for a Tempe therapist? My practice offers anxiety counseling in Tempe, trauma therapy, and phobia treatment for adults who feel stuck in patterns of nervous system overdrive.
“What you seek, is already seeking you.” -Rumi
You wake up already tense. Before your feet hit the floor, your mind is running.
What did I forget? What am I going to mess up today? How am I going to get through all of this? You don’t just feel stressed. Part of you is already on alert. Scanning. Planning. Trying to stay one step ahead of what could go wrong.
You show up. You get things done. People rely on you. Even on your hardest days, you still push through. But inside, It feels like you are barely holding everything together. You may look around and quietly wonder: Why does life seem easier for everyone else?
Anxiety counseling in Tempe can help your nervous system finally slow down.
I help people who are used to holding everything together on the outside move from constant anxiety, nervous system overdrive, and feeling responsible for everything toward feeling calm, grounded, and able to trust themselves, set boundaries, and be who they truly are, by doing deep, lasting work using EMDR, somatic therapy, and parts work.
Many of the people I work with are high functioning professionals who don’t feel high functioning on the inside. They have spent most of their lives being the responsible one. You show up, take care of others, and do what needs to be done, even when you are exhausted.
You might replay mistakes late at night, worry about disappointing people, and feel like your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight. Sometimes the pressure feels so intense, you just freeze and can’t get anything done. Emotions can feel overwhelming or unpredictable, which can leave you questioning yourself and wondering why life feels harder for you than it seems for everyone else.
You may feel like you’ve lost touch with who you are underneath all of this.
You may be taking on responsibility that isn’t actually yours.
You may know who you are, but feel like you can’t fully express it.
Many clients come to therapy worried they will be judged or misunderstood.
Clients tell me they experience therapy with me as a space that feels safe, grounded, and paced in a way that allows them to explore deeper patterns without becoming overwhelmed.
Clients often tell me I am welcoming, warm, caring, and gentle during the therapeutic process, and my peaceful office space mirrors that.
Clients move from feeling anxious, self-critical, and responsible for everything to feeling calmer, more confident, and able to trust themselves, set boundaries, and be who they actually are.
With more than 25 years of clinical experience, I specialize in working at the rare intersection of EMDR, somatic therapy, and nervous system healing.
This integrative approach allows us to work not only with thoughts and emotions, but also with the deeper nervous system patterns that keep anxiety, trauma, and phobias in place.
Using advanced EMDR, parts work such as ego-state and Internal Family Systems approaches, and Sensorimotor psychotherapy, we help your nervous system process experiences that may still be influencing how you respond to life today.
Read more about working with Taana Abbitt (EMDR Therapist) or EMDR Therapy.
“Taana is one of the most talented therapists I’ve known in my career. She’s results-oriented but always leads with empathy. I highly recommend her to both new and seasoned therapy clients.” — Debra S., Clinical Psychologist
“I have been working with Taana for several years and the impacts have been paramount. I have tried a variety of different healing modalities and therapies over the years in attempt to overcome complex trauma, and EMDR has been the most effective. What I appreciate and love about Taana is that in addition to a longstanding career as a licensed therapist, she is continually learning and evolving in her practice. This has been so fruitful as her client because I can tell she is always observing my needs and adjusting her approach accordingly. She shows up to each session with full presence, keen awareness, and unwavering commitment to my healing process. I always leave feeling like I got a brain and heart hug all in one. I am forever grateful to Taana and the impact she continues to make in my journey.”
“After EMDR with Taana, when I leave, it feels like my brain got cleaned. I’m usually swirling in stuff. I feel like my brain got a shower.”
“Taana’s compassion and skills have impacted my life in ways I did not think were possible. EMDR with her has changed my life far more than I ever thought possible. Complex PTSD that haunted me daily for decades has been resolved. I am so grateful to have found her!“
“EMDR therapy with Taana was a critical step in my journey. I struggled with complex childhood trauma causing me to carry grief, shame, and pain throughout my adult life. After six months with Taana I feel lighter. The anxiety and depression that had once consumed me has quieted, and I look forward to what each day brings!”
“I received about three months of EMDR therapy from Taana. The best way to describe the therapy is guided meditation in which Taana allows you to build a safe personal mental space in which to process experiences and feelings within your own life. I had such a positive experience with Taana! I never felt disconnected from the therapy process and I always felt safe and comfortable to share moments and milestones in my life with Taana.”
“Since I’ve been working with Taana, now I can look at something objectively, I understand how I should respond and how I should think about things. I’m not second guessing myself as much. The agency I feel is the biggest difference.”
“I have a better grasp of my needs, the techniques I need to use. If I get thrown off, I know how to come back from it. The panic attacks, the anxiety attacks, I understand now that it’s a natural response to things I’m not used to. I shouldn’t try to run from them, I should embrace them.“
“Our last session cleared my mental looping up right away, that was phenomenal.”
“Before I started working with Taana, I didn’t direct my life the way I do now.”
“When I leave a session with Taana, it’s like magic, I feel better.“
“I’m in such a healthier, more grounded place. I get to see myself, it’s not about anyone else, I get to look at myself. It feels like I accept myself now.
I see my own magic.”
“I have known and worked with Taana as both her supervisor and a colleague since 2015. She continually amazes me with insight, empathy, and compassion for all those she works with. Her vast range of experience in many different environments of care sets her apart from other clinicians by giving her a perspective that is unique and comprehensive. I am also always struck by Taana’s desire to continue to learn and grow as a clinician and that knowledge combined with her innate instincts make her one of the most talented clinicians that I have ever worked with. I would not hesitate to refer the people I care most about in the world to her for care and treatment.”
“Working with Taana has changed my life for the better. She is competent, professional knowledgeable, but above all extremely empathetic and compassionate . Her kindness and care have helped me make so many positive changes during a very challenging point in my life, and I would not have been made it where I am today without her guidance. She’s an extremely caring person who has truly found her calling in this field and I am so grateful to have been able to work with her.”