Anxiety Clinic: Cognitive Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders, Panic Attacks, and Phobias
An anxiety clinic – in German known as Angstambulanz, in Switzerland as Angstambulatorium – is a psychotherapeutic institution specialized in anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and phobias. The Anxiety Clinic at Lake Zurich of Dr. Dietmar Luchmann, LLC, follows a path that differs from common practice: no medication, no years of conversation, no in-person visits. Instead, it offers an efficient, clearly documented, written cognitive psychotherapy.
International guidelines for the treatment of anxiety and panic disorders, formulated by the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), specify a treatment range of 7 to 14 hours in total — no more is needed to resolve an anxiety disorder. The Anxiety Clinic operates precisely within this timeframe.
The method practiced here is called Written Cognitive Psychotherapy (WCP). It dispenses with the classical consulting room and uses the written word instead. Patient and psychotherapist exchange messages in writing. Both sides communicate their thinking through reading and writing. The entire cognitive psychotherapy is documented and re-readable. Waiting rooms, travel time, and appointment calendars are eliminated.
Which Anxiety Disorders Are Treated?
The Anxiety Clinic treats all recognized anxiety disorders:
- Generalized anxiety disorder,
- Panic disorder – with or without agoraphobia,
- Social phobia,
- Specific phobias such as fear of heights, fear of flying, claustrophobia, fear of spiders or dogs, blood-and-injection phobia,
- Mixed anxiety and depressive symptomatology,
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders, insofar as they are accompanied by anxiety,
- Depression, insofar as it arises from an anxiety disorder.
Intellectual giftedness, too, can trigger anxiety disorders, social phobias, and depression – through the social isolation it often imposes. Such conditions can be resolved at the Anxiety Clinic by the same procedure and just as efficiently as anxiety disorders of any other origin.
7 to 14 Hours to Therapeutic Success
The question of how long a psychotherapy should last is, within the health care system, often answered in whatever way is economically convenient for providers – that is, as long as possible. Scientifically, the answer is different.
International treatment guidelines define cognitive psychotherapy as the first-line therapy for anxiety and panic disorders and quantify the regular duration as 7 to 14 sessions. Anyone experiencing an anxiety disorder in a treatment course that significantly exceeds this limit should question the therapist – not the diagnosis.
The Anxiety Clinic operates consistently within this timeframe. Those who are not suitable for Written Cognitive Psychotherapy are not admitted: the two free entry steps as well as the flat-rate psychodiagnostics and trial sessions prior to therapy clarify the individual case.
Written Cognitive Psychotherapy (WCP)
WCP is not a digital surrogate for "real" psychotherapy but rather its most consistent form. It rests on a simple observation: anxiety disorders are thinking errors that manifest emotionally, physically, and behaviorally. Whoever identifies and corrects the thinking error eliminates the anxiety disorder.
This correction often fails in conversation. The spoken word is fleeting, patients shift between topics unnoticed, psychotherapists relapse into chatter. The written word, by contrast, cannot be blurred without consequence. It forces both sides into clarity.
In WCP, the patient formulates their problems in writing. The psychotherapist replies in writing. Both texts remain permanently available. Answers can be re-read as often as needed to be understood. The method is thus not more distant, but more empathetic than conversation – and measurably more efficient.
Detailed presentation of the method: Written Cognitive Psychotherapy – Concept.
Is In-Person Anxiety Therapy Also Possible?
Yes. It is possible to organize the cognitive psychotherapy as an eight-hour day-long block with a personal meeting of psychotherapist and patient in direct conversation. The prerequisite is that the written psychodiagnostics and trial sessions convincingly demonstrate that this format enhances efficiency.
This compact cognitive psychotherapy, which we have practiced for 30 years, is illustrated in the therapy report of a physician who healed his anxiety disorder, after a decade of suffering, with us in just eight hours in a single day-long block.
Starting Therapy in Two Steps
Access to the Anxiety Clinic is exclusively through the portal Psychotherapie.com and requires only two steps:
- Eligibility Test – anonymous and free of charge, about two minutes. The result appears immediately.
- Registration and Goal Definition – free of charge. Response within 24 hours, with a concrete treatment offer or a substantiated recommendation.
Anyone who wishes to ask questions before registration may use the free open chat consultation. Optionally, a paid consultation appointment is additionally available for a telephone discussion with psychotherapists of Dr. Dietmar Luchmann, LLC.
Provider
The Anxiety Clinic is operated by Dr. Dietmar Luchmann, LLC, headquartered in Dover, Delaware (USA). The institution was founded as the Anxiety Clinic at Lake Zurich in Rapperswil-Jona and Zurich; its historical development and the relocation of its operational seat to the United States are documented in the article on the Anxiety Clinic at Lake Zurich.
The Anxiety Clinic's international setup makes it possible to offer the cognitive psychotherapy of anxiety disorders worldwide, in both English and German – independent of cantonal or state bureaucracy.
Founder and senior psychotherapist is Dietmar Luchmann, with more than 40 years of professional experience in the cognitive psychotherapy of anxiety disorders.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Written Cognitive Psychotherapy takes place outside the health care system. With "Zero Tracking + Total Privacy," far-reaching data security is guaranteed. No data is transferred to health insurance companies, authorities, or third parties. Communication between patient and psychotherapist is end-to-end encrypted; the website forgoes cookies and tracking.
Details are provided in the comprehensive Privacy Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is an Anxiety Clinic?
An anxiety clinic – in German known as Angstambulanz, in Switzerland as Angstambulatorium – is a psychotherapeutic institution specialized in anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and phobias. The Anxiety Clinic of Dr. Dietmar Luchmann, LLC, treats these disorders cognitively, that is, by correcting misguided thinking, without medication.
Which Anxiety Disorders Are Treated?
All recognized anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobias such as fear of heights, fear of flying, claustrophobia, animal phobias, and blood-and-injection phobia. Also treated are obsessive-compulsive disorders and depression, when accompanied by anxiety.
How Long Does the Psychotherapy Last?
International treatment guidelines specify a treatment range of 7 to 14 hours of cognitive psychotherapy for anxiety and panic disorders. The Anxiety Clinic operates consistently within this timeframe.
What Does the Psychotherapy Cost?
Individual costs are stated in the concrete treatment offer after completion of the psychodiagnostics and trial sessions. Written Cognitive Psychotherapy is a self-pay service and, as a rule, more economical than years of insurance-financed treatment.
Do Health Insurance Companies Cover the Costs?
No. Written Cognitive Psychotherapy is a self-pay service of Dr. Dietmar Luchmann, LLC, headquartered in Delaware. It is therefore independent of cantonal, state, and insurance-law restrictions — and maximally confidential.
How Secure Is the Written Communication?
Communication between patient and psychotherapist is end-to-end encrypted. No data is transferred to health insurance companies, authorities, or third parties. The website fully forgoes cookies and tracking.
When Can the Psychotherapy Begin?
Immediately, once the two free entry steps as well as the flat-rate psychodiagnostics and trial sessions have confirmed the suitability of the individual case for Written Cognitive Psychotherapy. There are no waiting lists in the sense of insurance-financed practices.