Wellness Hills offers panic disorder treatment in New Jersey for individuals with recurring panic attacks and avoidance, using CBT and exposure therapy.
It can be scary to feel like a wave of terror could hit you at any time. For many people, a panic attack doesn’t just feel like being nervous; it feels like a real medical emergency. During an attack, you might feel pressure in your chest, trouble breathing, dizziness, and a scary feeling that you are losing control.
Because these feelings are so intense, many people go to the emergency room thinking they are having a heart attack. It is very common to see a doctor for these physical symptoms before realizing that they are actually caused by panic and are treatable.
Wellness Hills Mental Health specializes in panic disorder treatment in Chester, New Jersey, for adults struggling with recurrent panic attacks, anticipatory anxiety, and avoidance patterns that shrink daily life. We offer three levels of support based on how much your panic attacks affect your daily life: Weekly Therapy (Outpatient), Intensive Outpatient Support (IOP), and Full-Day Support (PHP).
Next Step: A clinical assessment can determine which program level (PHP, IOP, or OP) is appropriate for your symptoms. During screening, we look at attack frequency, functional impairment, avoidance and agoraphobia patterns, and safety concerns to recommend the most appropriate level of care. Go to our admissions page to learn how our team verifies your insurance coverage for these levels of care.
The physical intensity of a panic episode is often so profound that the brain’s logical centers are overwhelmed by fight-or-flight signals.
A panic attack is your body’s emergency alarm going off when there is no real emergency. It feels very scary and reaches its worst point within a few minutes.
Here is what it may feel like:
Think of the panic cycle as a simple, but scary, loop. It is about how you think about what you feel in your body.
The Fear of Fear
After this happens a few times, you start to worry about the next time. This is called the fear of fear. You start watching your body all the time, waiting for that small feeling.
Safety Rules That Don’t Help
To feel safe, you might start doing specific things called safety behaviors, but they actually keep the cycle going:
These behaviors tell your brain that the small-body feelings are really dangerous. Breaking this cycle means learning that the small feelings are normal and that your scary thoughts are just thoughts, not facts.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Seek urgent medical care for:
Medical evaluation is essential before assuming symptoms are panic-related.
Some substances and medication changes can mimic panic by increasing heart rate, breathing rate, or agitation.
If symptoms began after a change in caffeine, nicotine, stimulants, alcohol use, or sedating medications, tell your medical provider during evaluation. Do not stop alcohol or sedating medications abruptly without medical guidance.
This helps clinicians determine whether symptoms are panic disorder, a medical issue, or a substance or medication-related effect.
The DSM-5 panic disorder criteria require the presence of recurrent, unexpected panic attacks. At least one attack must be followed by one month or more of persistent concern about additional attacks (anticipatory anxiety) or a significant change in behavior related to the attacks.
This behavior change is often maladaptive, meaning the person stops doing things they enjoy or need to do because they are afraid of having an episode. A licensed clinician at Wellness Hills can assess whether your experience meets these clinical thresholds.
For many, fear of panic leads to avoidance behaviors, which can develop into agoraphobia, anxiety about being in places or situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if a panic attack occurs.
Some people develop avoidance that shrinks daily life, such as:
These patterns are treatable but often require structured exposure work.
Before committing to long-term panic attack treatment in New Jersey, we encourage clients to have a thorough physical with their primary care physician. Several medical conditions mimic panic by creating identical physical sensations.
How the protocol works (in practice):
We start by identifying your personal panic pattern, what you notice in your body, what you fear it means, and what safety behaviors you use to cope (checking pulse, avoiding driving, only going with reassurance). Then we build a step-by-step plan to reduce fear of sensations (interoceptive exposure) and restore avoided activities (situational exposure).
Progress is tracked with brief check-ins, and the plan is adjusted if avoidance or anticipatory anxiety stays stuck.
CBT for panic disorder focuses on how your thoughts and body feelings work together to create panic.
Interoceptive exposure therapy can help you stop being afraid of your own body. Here, with close supervision and guidance of the treatment team, you safely practice having the feelings you fear in a controlled way. By feeling these sensations on purpose and seeing that nothing bad happens, your brain learns that they are false alarms.
Exposure therapy for agoraphobia and avoidance addresses places and activities people have been avoiding. Treatment uses a hierarchy approach:
This work is planned collaboratively and adjusted based on progress over time.
Therapy can work better when you practice these skills in your daily life:
Find out your personal coverage & options for treatment with a free verification of benefits from our admissions team. Whether you come to our programs or not we will ensure that you receive personalized recommendations for treatment based on your needs.
Medication decisions are individualized and made with a qualified prescriber. If medication is part of your treatment plan, we coordinate with psychiatric support as appropriate and focus on therapy skills that reduce avoidance and fear of sensations.
When clinically indicated, the most commonly used panic disorder medication comprises a type called SSRIs or SNRIs. They are antidepressants that can help calm down the brain’s fear alarm so you don’t panic as easily. They can help steady your brain’s chemistry so your body doesn’t overreact to stress as often.
Sometimes, doctors suggest medicines that work very quickly, but they use them carefully.
When medication is part of care, Wellness Hills collaborates with primary care and psychiatric providers (psychiatrists or PMHNPs) to monitor response, manage side effects, and align medication plans with psychotherapies such as CBT and exposure-based goals.
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"I felt supported, understood, and never judged. The therapists here actually listen, and the groups helped me build confidence and skills I didn’t even know I needed. I’m healthier, calmer, and finally hopeful about my future. I’m so grateful for the care I received.”
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Wellness Hills offers Outpatient (OP), Intensive Outpatient (IOP), and Partial Hospitalization (PHP), depending on how much panic and avoidance are disrupting daily life.
Outpatient therapy may be appropriate if:
Weekly sessions focus on CBT and exposure planning.
IOP for anxiety and panic disorder offers:
This level can be appropriate for moderate impairment or stalled progress in outpatient care.
A Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is an intensive day-treatment option that Wellness Hills may use for severe panic attacks.
Placement follows a clear pathway:
Many clients come to Chester from across North Jersey, depending on schedule and level of care. During your screening, we’ll confirm the best fit, session times, and whether telehealth is appropriate for you.
Panic disorder treatment here is structured around CBT and exposure-based therapy. After an assessment, we help you:
The goal is not never feeling anxiety, it’s regaining function and confidence without avoidance.
Most people start by learning how panic is maintained (sensations, interpretations, avoidance, and safety behaviors), then move into structured exposure practice. Early sessions focus on assessment and planning; progress usually depends on consistency with between-session practice and completing exposure steps.
If symptoms are severe or progress is stalled, a higher level of structured care may be recommended.
Care is delivered by New Jersey licensed clinicians, including:
Wellness Hills is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health (License No. 70290104) and follows formal clinical policies that support safety, privacy, and the quality of care.
Panic symptoms may co-occur with:
Screening helps tailor treatment and coordinate care appropriately. If panic occurs alongside OCD, trauma symptoms, or depression, the treatment plan is adjusted so CBT and exposures target the primary maintaining loop, for example: avoidance and safety behaviors, reassurance and compulsions, trauma-triggered threat responses, or withdrawal and shutdown patterns.
This prevents treating panic in isolation when another condition is driving relapse or slowing progress.
When appropriate, we may use brief tools like PDSS or GAD-7 at baseline and then periodically to track change over time. If progress stalls, we review what’s keeping symptoms stuck, avoidance patterns, safety behaviors, exposure difficulty level, session frequency, or co-occurring factors, and adjust the plan (for example, revising the exposure hierarchy, increasing structure through IOP or PHP, or coordinating with a prescriber when clinically indicated).
These FAQs answer the questions people most often ask when exploring care and scheduling an initial screening.
Panic symptoms, such as a racing heart and chest tightness, are physically identical to some heart conditions. However, panic is a false alarm of the nervous system. You should see a doctor for a physical exam first. If your heart is medically cleared, a clinician can assess if your symptoms are consistent with panic disorder.
While some people have periods of remission, untreated panic disorder often leads to increased avoidance and a smaller life. Professional treatment provides the skills to stop the panic cycle so you aren’t just waiting for the next attack to happen.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) with a focus on exposure can be an effective treatment. It helps you change your thoughts about panic while retraining your body to handle physical sensations without fear. Wellness Hills integrates these modalities into all levels of care.
You do not always need medicine to get better. Many people feel relief just by talking to a therapist and practicing how to face their fears.
We build an exposure plan around the specific sensations and situations you avoid, practice step-by-step, and reduce safety behaviors that keep panic stuck.
Level of care is based on severity, functional impairment, avoidance, agoraphobia patterns, and whether progress is stalling at a lower level.
Our admissions team can help you with:
Important: This page has health information, but it is not for emergencies. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you have thoughts of hurting yourself, call or text 988 for free, 24/7 help.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) | HIPAA Privacy Rule and Sharing Information Related to Mental Health (PDF) – Official HHS guidance explaining when mental health information can be shared under HIPAA, including special protections for psychotherapy notes and permitted disclosures to family/caregivers in certain situations.
