Slow the Racing Mind and Feel More Grounded
If your thoughts never seem to slow down—if you replay conversations, second-guess decisions, or mentally prepare for every worst-case scenario, you’re not alone.
The good news: overthinking is not a personality trait. It’s a pattern your nervous system learned, and therapy can help you shift it.
Overthinking Therapy in Philadelphia
Overthinking can feel like the mind is always “on,” buzzing with what-ifs, to-do lists, and fears about what you should have said or how you should have handled something differently. It often comes from parts of you that want to ensure:
You avoid criticism
You perform perfectly
You stay prepared for anything
You maintain stability or success
Overthinking is common in competitive environments—it becomes a way to stay safe, prepared, and in control.
I understand the mental load that comes with nonstop expectations, deadlines, and performance pressure. Before becoming a therapist, I spent 10+ years working in Corporate Finance. Now, I work with people who want to understand how overthinking affects their confidence, relationships, and overall wellbeing.
Signs You May Be Overthinking
When the body doesn’t feel safe—emotionally, relationally, or situationally—the mind tries to protect you by analyzing every detail it can control.
Overthinking often shows up as:
Constant mental replaying or analyzing
Inability to make a decision without over-evaluating every option
Worrying about how others perceived you
Anticipating problems that haven’t happened
Feeling “stuck in your head”
Difficulty relaxing or enjoying downtime
Fear of making the “wrong” choice
Most people think overthinking is just “thinking too much,” but it’s actually a protective response.
IFS Therapy to Understand Your “Overthinking Parts”
Using Internal Family Systems (IFS), we explore the protective parts behind your overthinking—the planner, the worrier, the analyst, the perfectionist, the fixer.
Together we help these parts:
Step back from overworking
Trust you to make decisions
Release pressure and fear
Feel more grounded and supported
Instead of battling your thoughts, we build a compassionate relationship with the parts trying to help you.
How Therapy Helps You Stop Overthinking
Reduce Anxiety & Calm the Nervous System
Overthinking is often a sign of a nervous system stuck in “hyper-vigilance.” Therapy helps you:
Slow the internal urgency
Strengthen emotional regulation
Interrupt spirals before they escalate
Shift from overanalyzing to intuitive, grounded decision-making
This isn’t about becoming passive—it’s about becoming steady.
Break the Perfectionism & People-Pleasing Loop
Overthinking is often fueled by beliefs like:
“I can’t make a mistake.”
“What if someone gets upset?”
“I need to make the right choice.”
“I have to be prepared.”
Through the lens of IFS and attachment therapy, we unpack where these beliefs came from and help you build self-trust that isn’t tied to being perfect or pleasing others.
If you also identify with people-pleasing or perfectionism, therapy can help you rewrite these internal rules so you can show up fully without the fear of “getting it wrong.”
Build Practical Tools to Quiet the Mental Noise
Therapy gives you strategies that work with your mind—not against it:
Decision-making frameworks
Grounding & mindfulness techniques
Ways to interrupt spiraling
Boundary tools that reduce emotional overload
Work stress management
Reducing “analysis paralysis”
You’ll learn to respond to your thoughts rather than get swept away by them.
Find your focus - without losing your drive.
Therapy can help you understand why your mind works this way—and give you practical, compassionate tools to shift the pattern.
I offer virtual and in-person sessions in Center City Philadelphia for professionals who show up strong on the outside but feel pulled apart within.
Contact me today to learn how therapy can help you calm your mind, reduce overthinking, and feel more grounded in your daily life.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Overthinking is often a protective response rooted in anxiety, perfectionism, or past experiences where staying alert felt necessary to stay safe. Using attachment-based therapy and IFS, we uncover why your mind learned to work this hard—and how to support these protective parts.
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If your thoughts keep you up at night, make decisions feel overwhelming, or cause anxiety or stress, therapy can help. You don’t have to be in crisis for overthinking to be worth addressing.
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I primarily use Internal Family Systems (IFS), attachment-based therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches to help reduce spiraling thoughts and build emotional clarity.
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Often, yes. Many people who struggle with overthinking also experience people-pleasing, perfectionism, or chronic worry. Therapy helps you understand how these patterns connect.
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No. You don’t need to leave your job to feel better. Therapy focuses on building internal trust, emotional regulation, and realistic tools that work within your current life.
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Yes. Many clients find virtual sessions especially helpful because they feel comfortable processing spirals and anxiety from home.
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Many clients begin noticing shifts in a few weeks—less rumination, quicker recovery from spirals, and more confidence in decision-making. Your pace depends on your goals and needs.