How fast can I get relief from panic attacks?

Most people feel a meaningful shift within the first few sessions, especially in how they understand what's happening to their body. Real change in frequency and intensity usually takes 8 to 12 weeks of consistent work.

Are panic attacks dangerous?

No. They feel dangerous because the body's threat response is firing without an actual threat. Your heart races, your breathing changes, your vision narrows, and your brain tells you something is terribly wrong. None of it is causing harm.

Do I need medication for panic attacks?

Some people benefit from medication, especially short-term. Some don't. I'm not a prescriber, but I work alongside psychiatrists when medication is part of the plan. The therapy work is the durable change.

Can we work via video if driving causes me panic?

Yes. All sessions are secure video. You don't have to drive anywhere or sit in a waiting room. For people whose panic is triggered by driving or being away from home, video makes therapy possible when in-person wouldn't be.

I've tried therapy before for anxiety and it didn't help. Why would this be different?

A lot of anxiety therapy stays at the surface — coping skills, reframing, breathing. That can take the edge off but rarely changes the underlying pattern. I work directly on what's driving the panic, not just managing the symptoms.

How do I know if I have panic disorder or just stress?

Stress doesn't usually come with the body symptoms — racing heart, chest tightness, sense of unreality, fear of dying. If you're avoiding places or activities because of what might happen there, or if the fear of the next attack is shaping your daily life, that's panic, not stress.

Dr. Jené Verchick panic attack therapy Beverly Hills

Panic Attack Therapy in Beverly Hills

You're in a meeting and your heart suddenly starts pounding. You can't breathe. The room narrows. You wonder if you're having a heart attack, losing your mind, or both. You excuse yourself, splash water on your face, force a smile, and walk back in like nothing happened.

That's a panic attack. And if you're reading this, you've had more than one.

I'm Dr. Jené Verchick, a licensed clinical psychologist with 26+ years of experience. I work with people in Beverly Hills who have panic attacks, including people whose lives, on the outside, look like nothing should be wrong.

You're Functioning. That Doesn't Mean You're Okay

Most of the people I see for panic attacks are not falling apart in obvious ways. They're running companies. Closing deals. Showing up to school drop-off. Hosting dinners. Making it look easy.

What no one knows is that they're spending half their day waiting for the next attack. Driving with one hand on the wheel and the other pressed against their chest. Excusing themselves from meetings to hide in bathrooms. Avoiding the freeway. Avoiding flights. Avoiding the restaurants and rooms where escape isn't easy.

The performance is exhausting. The secret is exhausting. The fear of the next attack is often worse than the attacks themselves.

How I Treat Panic Attacks

I'm not going to put you on a breathing app and call it treatment. Panic attacks aren't a relaxation problem. They're a nervous system problem with psychological roots, and they need real intervention.

In our work, I help you understand:

What's actually happening in your body during an attack and why it's not dangerous
The thought pattern that's keeping the cycle going — the fear of the fear
The avoidance behaviors that have quietly taken over your life
The triggers underneath the surface trigger: the work pressure, the relationship issue, the unprocessed loss, the impossible standards

I'm active and direct in session. When I see the pattern, I name it. We don't spend months talking around it. We change it.

Why Beverly Hills Clients Work With Me

Most of the people I see in Beverly Hills are high-performers. Founders, executives, entertainers, attorneys, doctors. People whose careers reward composure. People who've built an identity around being capable.

Panic attacks are uniquely punishing for this group. Not just because of the symptoms, but because admitting them feels like a threat to everything you've built. You can't tell your team. You can't tell your board. You can't tell your peers. Sometimes you can't even tell your spouse.

I've worked with this population for over two decades and understand how to work with you.

What Often Brings People To Therapy for Panic Attacks

The cases I see usually involve some combination of:

Years of high-performance pressure that finally caught up
A specific event that broke something open: a near miss, a public moment, a loss
Hidden grief or trauma showing up as panic instead of sadness
A relationship in quiet crisis you haven't named yet
Sleep medication or alcohol that masked the underlying anxiety until it stopped working
Perimenopause or hormonal shifts compounding existing anxiety
A career or company exit that removed the structure holding everything together

How I Work With Panic Attack Sufferers

When you first come in, the panic usually has you convinced something is deeply wrong with you. The first thing I help you see is that your body's alarm system is misfiring, not breaking. That alone takes some of the fear out of the next attack.

From there we work in a practical, steady way. We learn your early warning signs, and instead of bracing against the sensations or running from them, you practice staying with them until they lose their grip. We work directly with how panic shows up in your body, and we go at a pace that feels safe to you.

Most people think the goal is to never feel panic again, so they build their lives around avoiding it. That avoidance is usually what keeps panic alive. The work isn't about white-knuckling through fear. It's about teaching your nervous system that you are safe, so the attacks ease on their own.

A lot of programs hand you a worksheet and a breathing technique and send you on your way. I bring 26+ years of sitting with people through this, so I can tell panic apart from what else might be going on, and I tailor the work to you instead of running you through a script.

After all these years, the pattern I see again and again is simple: once people stop fearing the next attack, the attacks start to lose their power. Panic is one of the most treatable things I work with, and people get their lives back.

What Clients Say

"I'd been having attacks for a year before I told anyone. I was sure I was the only executive in town who couldn't hold it together. Dr. Verchick was the first person who treated it as a real thing with a real fix, not a pep talk. Within a few weeks I stopped scanning the room for exits. Within a few months I forgot I used to." Beverly Hills

"My panic attacks started after I sold my company. Everyone congratulated me. Inside I was falling apart. Dr. Verchick helped me see that the structure of running the business had been holding the anxiety in place. Once it was gone, the anxiety came up. Naming that changed everything." Beverly Hills

"I tried meditation, supplements, two other therapists, and a six-week CBT app. Nothing touched it. With Dr. Verchick the work was real and uncomfortable from session one. I didn't want a therapist who would manage my symptoms. I wanted someone who would actually get to the bottom of it. That's what she did." Beverly Hills

Frequently Asked Questions about Panic Attack Therapy

What does a panic attack feel like?

A panic attack usually comes on fast and peaks within minutes. Common signs are a racing heart, shortness of breath, chest tightness, dizziness, sweating, shaking, and a sudden fear that something is very wrong. The physical symptoms can feel like a medical emergency even when you are safe. They are intense, but they pass, and they are treatable.

What kind of therapy is best for panic attacks?

The most effective treatments are evidence-based approaches like cognitive and exposure-based therapy. They help you recognize the early signs of panic, stop bracing against the sensations, and gradually retrain your body's alarm response. With a licensed psychologist, you build skills that lower both how often attacks happen and how much they frighten you.

What kind of therapist should you see for panic attacks?

Look for a licensed professional with real experience treating panic and anxiety, ideally a psychologist. Someone who has treated panic for years knows what tends to help and can tell panic apart from other conditions. Dr. Jené Verchick is a licensed psychologist with 26+ years helping people through anxiety and panic.

What is the 3-3-3 rule for panic attacks?

The 3-3-3 rule is a simple grounding tool. When panic rises, name three things you can see, three sounds you can hear, and move three parts of your body. It pulls your attention out of the spiral and back into the present moment. It helps in the moment, though lasting relief usually comes from therapy that addresses the root of the panic.

Do panic attacks go away?

Yes. Panic attacks respond very well to treatment. With the right support, most people find attacks become less frequent, less intense, and far less frightening, and many stop having them altogether. You do not have to keep living around them.

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