Anxiety doesn't care how impressive your resume is. You crush it at work, lead with confidence, and hold it all together for everyone around you. But privately? There's a racing mind that won't shut off, a tightness in your chest that shows up uninvited, and a constant, low-grade dread that something is about to fall apart. You've tried to think your way out of your anxiety, push through it, outperform it. But willpower isn't working like it usually does. As a high-achieving woman, you've overcome nearly every problem with determination and intelligence. But anxiety doesn't respond to the same playbook. I'm Alli Christie Disney, a licensed therapist in Colorado with 18 years of experience, and I specialize in helping high-achieving women heal anxiety at the root through focused, accelerated therapy intensives.
Anxiety doesn't have to run your life, and working with me isn't about spending months talking in circles or collecting coping strategies that barely scratch the surface. If you've done the weekly therapy thing and still feel stuck, still white-knuckling through panic attacks between meetings, still battling imposter syndrome despite a track record of success, you're not broken. You just haven't gotten to the root yet. My approach uses therapy intensives to identify where your anxiety actually comes from and clear it at the source, often in days rather than years.
When High-Achieving Women Live on High Alerte
You run teams. You build businesses. You hit goals most people wouldn't even set for themselves. From the outside, you look like you have it all figured out.
But behind the polished exterior, anxiety tells a different story. Sound familiar?
▸ Your brain replays every conversation, scanning for what you said wrong
▸ Panic attacks that hit out of nowhere, sometimes in your car, sometimes before a presentation, sometimes in the bathroom between meetings
▸ Imposter syndrome whispering that you're a fraud, that someone is about to figure out you don't belong here
▸ A half-hour internal battle every time you want to ask your partner for something you need
▸ Insomnia, tension headaches, or a tight chest that shows up even when nothing is technically wrong
▸ A quiet, relentless sense that you're not doing enough, no matter how much you achieve
You keep pushing through because that's what high-achieving women do. But this pattern? It isn't sustainable. And deep down, you know it.
Many of the women I work with describe this same disconnect: massive external success paired with an internal world running on anxiety, imposter syndrome, and self-doubt. That sense of being one mistake away from being found out. That if you slow down, everything will crumble. If this sounds like you, you're in the right place.
Where Anxiety, Imposter Syndrome, and Panic Attacks Actually Come From
Here's what most people don't tell you about anxiety: it usually isn't about what's happening right now.
For many high-achieving women, anxiety traces back to early experiences that shaped how you learned to move through the world. Maybe you grew up in a home where a parent struggled with undiagnosed mental health challenges or substance use, and you learned early that being hyper-vigilant was the only way to stay safe. Maybe you received the message, spoken or unspoken, that your worth was tied to your performance. That love was conditional on being good enough.
These experiences create deeply ingrained patterns in the nervous system that don't go away with time, grit, or a promotion. Developmental trauma and childhood experiences that disrupted your sense of safety are often the hidden engine behind:
▸ Chronic anxiety that hums in the background of everything you do
▸ Imposter syndrome that makes you question your competence despite years of evidence to the contrary
▸ Panic attacks that blindside you and leave you shaken for the rest of the day
▸ Self-doubt that keeps you stuck in analysis paralysis
▸ Burnout from constantly performing to prove your worth
The anxiety, the panic attacks, the imposter syndrome, they're not character flaws. They're your nervous system responding to old threats as if they're still happening right now. The difficult truth: these patterns will keep showing up unless you heal the core root. That's exactly what I help you do, and an intensive is the fastest, most effective way to get there.
No More Spinning Your Wheels
I take a different approach to treating anxiety than what most people have experienced in therapy. No more guesswork. No more talking in circles. Through my therapy intensives, I identify the real root of your anxiety, your panic attacks, and your imposter syndrome, and I keep us on track to help it be cleared for good.
My intensive approach integrates three powerful, research-backed modalities, each tailored to what you need:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps your brain reprocess the distressing memories driving your anxiety and panic attacks. Instead of getting pulled into the same spiral every time a trigger surfaces, you can recall those experiences without the flood of fear and dread. EMDR is particularly powerful for high-achieving women because it works quickly and efficiently, often shifting patterns in hours that talk therapy hasn't touched in years.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) allows us to work with the different parts of you carrying old burdens. The perfectionist part that won't let you rest. The inner critic fueling your imposter syndrome. The anxious part that scans for danger around every corner. IFS creates a compassionate framework for understanding these parts and helping them heal so they no longer run the show.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) brings the body into the conversation, because anxiety and panic attacks aren't just thinking problems. They're stored in your muscles, your breathing patterns, and your nervous system. SE helps you release the tension and activation that have been locked in place, sometimes for decades, so your body can finally come down from high alert.
When Anxiety Shows Up as a Phobia
For some high-achieving women, anxiety doesn't just show up as a general sense of dread or imposter syndrome. It locks onto something specific, and suddenly a capable, accomplished woman who runs a company or leads a team finds herself unable to board a flight, get a blood draw, or walk into an open space without her nervous system going haywire.
Phobias are one of the most misunderstood expressions of anxiety. They're not about being "dramatic" or "irrational." They're your brain's threat response misfiring on a specific trigger, often rooted in an experience your conscious mind may not even remember. I work with high-achieving women dealing with phobias including:
▸ Fear of flying that limits your career, your travel, and your freedom
▸ Needle phobia that turns routine medical appointments into full-blown anxiety spirals or panic attacks
▸ Blood phobia that makes you avoid doctors, procedures, or even conversations about health
▸ Fear of being outside or in open spaces that shrinks your world and keeps you stuck
▸ Other specific phobias that may seem "small" to everyone else but feel paralyzing to you
Here's what most people don't realize about phobias: they respond incredibly well to EMDR, especially in an intensive format. Because phobias are often anchored to a specific memory or set of memories, we can identify the root, reprocess it, and significantly reduce or eliminate the phobic response, often within a single intensive day. You don't have to white-knuckle your way through exposure therapy for months. We go straight to the source.
If a phobia is holding you back from living fully, this is exactly the kind of focused, efficient work that an intensive is built for.
Why High-Achieving Women Choose Intensives for Anxiety
If you're a high-achieving woman running a business, leading teams, or building something meaningful, you don't have the luxury of waiting months or years to see progress in 50-minute weekly sessions. You need results that move at the speed of your ambition. That's exactly why I specialize in therapy intensives.
An intensive is deep, concentrated therapeutic work over the course of one or more full days, rather than stretching it out over a year. Instead of opening up your anxiety in a 50-minute session and spending the rest of the week trying to put it back, you have the time and space to see things through.
Here's what a standard intensive processing day looks like:
▸ 9am to 3pm at my office, with a break for lunch
▸ We identify key goals, internal resources, and the limiting beliefs fueling your anxiety and imposter syndrome
▸ We map the target memories underneath your panic attacks, self-doubt, and anxious patterns
▸ Three 90-minute processing blocks, with breaks whenever you need them
▸ The last 30 minutes to calm and regulate your nervous system before heading home
This intensive format is especially effective for anxiety and panic attacks because it allows your brain to stay in the processing zone long enough to make meaningful shifts. Many high-achieving women find that an intensive gives them more progress in a few days than they experienced in months, or even years, of traditional therapy. No more spinning your wheels. No more frustratingly slow weekly appointments.
MEET YOUR CLINICAL STRATEGIST
Alli Christie Disney
LPC, EMDR Certified, IFS Level 2, SE [ she/her ]
I bring the following qualities to create an effective intensive:
▸ Clear Direction
No more guesswork or talking in circles. I identify the real root and keep us on track to help it be cleared for good.
▸ Clinical Leadership
You (finally) don’t have to drive if you don’t want to. You can trust that I’ll lead our intensive where it needs to go for the best results.
▸ Unshakable Presence
Disturbing memories you’ve never told anyone? Overwhelming emotions? Critical feedback for me? I’m here for all of it.
Want to Chat?
Which Therapy Intensive Approach is Right for You?
Targeted Approach
$2.7k PER Complete Intensive
3 hrs/day, 3 days
▸ Best For: Specific themes, individual events, or a specific time period that was traumatic or stressful such as single-incident trauma (i.e. car accident, shooting, assault, bad break up) or stressors that spanned weeks or months.
▸ How It Works: We clarify your goals, target the core issue and distressing memories, and then we do targeted work to heal it. We keep our day(s) focused on a single goal so you end your intensive experiencing significant relief.
Comprehensive Approach
$1.8k PER DAY
6 hrs/day, 1-5 days
▸ Best For: Tackling every significant category of unresolved pain and healing it at the root. Such as life-long limiting beliefs, disturbing themes, developmental trauma, areas where you feel stuck, and stressors that spanned years.
▸ How It Works: I help you identify every significant category of unresolved pain, and create a comprehensive treatment plan. Then we do the work to heal all of it. You walk out on your last day, and you are FREE.
What Happens After Your Intensive
Healing from anxiety doesn't stop when you leave my office. After your intensive, I provide:
▸ A comprehensive treatment summary outlining the memories and targets we processed, any significant parts-work we completed around imposter syndrome or other patterns, and areas that may benefit from continued attention
▸ A copy for your records and, with your permission, I'll share it with any other therapists or providers on your care team
▸ A debriefing call with your individual or couples therapist (if applicable) so your intensive experience connects seamlessly to your ongoing goals
Nothing falls through the cracks, and the progress you made healing your anxiety, resolving panic attacks, and dismantling imposter syndrome keeps building momentum in your daily life.
Location:
You've spent years managing your anxiety. Working around the panic attacks. Pushing through the imposter syndrome. Performing in spite of all of it. But managing isn't the same as healing.
You deserve to know what it feels like to:
▸ Move through your day without anxiety running in the background
▸ Walk into a room without imposter syndrome telling you that you don't belong
▸ Stop bracing for the next panic attack and start trusting your body again
▸ Finally feel as successful on the inside as you are on the outside
Whether you're a high-achieving woman in Colorado or traveling from out of state for an intensive, I'd love to talk with you about what this work could look like. I offer a free 45-minute consultation where we'll discuss your goals, and I'll give you an honest sense of how many days the intensive might take. If it's a good fit, I'll offer you my first available opening so you can get started. If you're traveling to the Denver area, I'm happy to provide accommodation recommendations near my office.
Reach out today to schedule your free consultation. Let's clear the way for you to make your impact.
It's Time to Clear the Way
Frequently Asked Questions
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Anxiety itself is a normal human emotion, so the goal isn't to eliminate it entirely. But the chronic, disruptive anxiety that keeps high-achieving women stuck in overdrive? That can absolutely be resolved. When we identify and heal the root experiences driving your anxiety, often through an intensive format using EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing, the patterns that once controlled your daily life lose their grip. Many of the women I work with describe a profound shift after their intensive where the anxiety that once ran the show simply doesn't have the same charge anymore.
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If you've been battling anxiety for years, it can feel like it's just part of who you are. It's not. Anxiety that stems from unresolved trauma, developmental experiences, or deeply held limiting beliefs responds powerfully to targeted, root-level treatment. Through therapy intensives, I help high-achieving women process the core memories fueling their anxiety so the nervous system can finally come down from high alert. The anxiety doesn't just get managed. It gets resolved.
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For many high-achieving women, anxiety is triggered by situations that activate old survival patterns, even when there's no real threat present. Common triggers include high-stakes decisions, conflict in relationships, fear of failure or judgment, and transitions that feel uncertain. Often these triggers trace back to childhood experiences where hyper-vigilance, people-pleasing, or perfectionism became the way you kept yourself safe. In an intensive, we identify the specific memories underneath your triggers and process them directly so they stop running the show.
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Imposter syndrome and anxiety are deeply connected. Imposter syndrome is that persistent belief that you're a fraud, that your success is luck, and that someone is about to figure out you don't belong. For high-achieving women, it often shows up alongside chronic anxiety because both are rooted in the same core belief: I'm not good enough. In my intensives, I use IFS to work directly with the inner critic and perfectionist parts driving your imposter syndrome, while EMDR helps reprocess the memories that installed those beliefs in the first place.
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Yes. Panic attacks are one of the most intense ways anxiety can show up in your body. They can feel like a racing heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, or a sense that something terrible is about to happen. For high-achieving women, panic attacks are especially disorienting because they often hit when everything looks fine on the surface. The good news is that panic attacks respond extremely well to the kind of root-level work I do in intensives. When we process the underlying memories and nervous system activation driving the panic, the attacks typically decrease significantly or stop altogether.
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Everyone experiences stress, and a certain amount of it can actually fuel productivity and focus. Anxiety becomes something different when it's persistent, disproportionate, and disconnected from what's actually happening in the moment. If you're lying awake at 2am replaying a conversation from three days ago, or bracing for disaster when nothing is wrong, that's your nervous system stuck in a threat response. For many high-achieving women, this pattern has been running for so long it feels normal. It's not. And an intensive can help you reset.
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I work with high-achieving women experiencing a wide range of anxiety presentations, including chronic generalized anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, phobias, performance anxiety, and anxiety rooted in developmental or childhood trauma. Rather than treating a diagnosis, my approach focuses on identifying the specific root experiences driving your unique anxiety patterns and processing them through EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing in an intensive format tailored to you.
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Absolutely, but there's a difference between surviving with anxiety and thriving without it weighing you down. Many of the high-achieving women I work with have built incredibly successful lives while carrying significant anxiety. They've learned to perform in spite of it. But imagine what becomes possible when you're no longer spending energy managing panic attacks, fighting imposter syndrome, or pushing through dread just to get through the day. An intensive helps you clear the root so you can channel that energy into the things that actually matter to you.
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In traditional weekly therapy, meaningful progress with anxiety can take months or even years. That's one of the reasons I specialize in therapy intensives. In an intensive format, we do deep, focused work over one or more full days, giving your brain the sustained time it needs to process and shift longstanding anxiety patterns. Many high-achieving women experience significant relief within their first intensive. I'll give you an honest estimate of how many days the work might take during your free 45-minute consultation.
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The biggest difference is depth and pace. In a 50-minute weekly session, you often just start accessing the core material before time is up, leaving you to manage the emotional residue for the rest of the week. In an intensive, we have the time to identify the root, process it, and help your nervous system integrate the shift all in the same day. For high-achieving women dealing with anxiety, panic attacks, and imposter syndrome, this format means you're not spinning your wheels week after week. You're doing the deep work and walking out on the other side of it.
Trade out panic and anxiety for unshakable self-trust.
Alli Christie Counseling is for the woman who's ready to feel as powerful on the inside as she looks on the outside. I offer trauma healing intensives designed for driven, high-achieving women — using EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing to clear the weight of the past, silence the inner critic, and unlock the kind of unshakable confidence that no amount of hustle could ever build.