Anxiety and SUD in Woodland Hills

What This Treatment Is

Anxiety disorders and substance use disorder co-occur frequently. National epidemiologic data show that adults with anxiety disorders — generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder — have significantly higher rates of alcohol and drug use disorders than the general population. The connection is typically driven by self-medication: patients use alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opioids to manage the physical and cognitive experience of anxiety.

Why This Pattern Is Common — and Dangerous

Anxiety produces real, disabling symptoms: racing thoughts, chest tightness, sleep disruption, avoidance of situations that trigger fear. Alcohol and benzodiazepines blunt these symptoms in the short term, which reinforces continued use. But both substances create dependence over time, and benzodiazepine withdrawal in particular can be medically dangerous. The self-medication path often ends in worse anxiety plus a substance use disorder — the exact opposite of what patients were trying to achieve.

Evidence-Based Treatment

Treatment combines evidence-based anxiety therapy — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety, exposure-based approaches, interoceptive exposure for panic — with non-dependence-forming medications: SSRIs (sertraline, escitalopram, paroxetine) or SNRIs (venlafaxine, duloxetine) rather than benzodiazepines. For co-occurring alcohol use disorder, naltrexone or acamprosate; for OUD, buprenorphine or naltrexone. Benzodiazepines are avoided when possible in co-occurring SUD patients.

Elevated Healing’s Specialty-Led Approach

Our Woodland Hills program treats co-occurring anxiety and SUD through coordinated specialty-led tracks. Psychiatric providers manage medication with awareness of SUD comorbidity — meaning benzodiazepines are avoided in favor of SSRIs, SNRIs, and non-controlled agents like buspirone or hydroxyzine.

Practically:

• Full psychiatric evaluation including anxiety disorder subtype, severity, and functional impairment.
• SUD evaluation with focus on whether substance use began as anxiety coping.
• SSRI or SNRI as first-line medication for the anxiety disorder.
• CBT for anxiety, delivered by therapists credentialed in exposure-based work.
• MAT for co-occurring alcohol or opioid use disorder as clinically indicated.
• Benzodiazepine tapering support when patients arrive already dependent — this is medically complex and requires careful management.

Access at Our Woodland Hills Campus

Our campus is at 21250 Califa St, Ste 114, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, in the West San Fernando Valley. Access is straightforward:

• From the 101 (Ventura Freeway) — exit at De Soto Avenue or Winnetka Avenue and drive a short distance north.
• From the 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) — take Winnetka or De Soto south into the West Valley.
• Nearby communities — Warner Center, Winnetka, West Hills, Canoga Park, Tarzana, and Encino are all a short drive.
• Telehealth — after your initial in-person assessment, most follow-up psychiatric visits can be done by video for California residents.

Parking and check-in details are provided at intake. If accessibility accommodations are needed, tell our admissions team when you call.

Program Levels That Deliver This Care

This service is delivered inside the level of care that matches your clinical need at intake. Level of care can shift over time as treatment progresses.

Insurance, Cost, and Getting Started

Most commercial insurance plans cover anxiety and sud under mental health and substance use disorder benefits, which are subject to federal parity requirements under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Parity means insurers cannot impose stricter limits on behavioral health services than they apply to physical health services — a real legal protection worth knowing you have when you call.

The first step is a conversation with our admissions team. This call is free, confidential, and carries no obligation. During it, we:

• Verify your insurance benefits within one business day.
• Confirm what’s covered, what your copay or coinsurance will be, and whether prior authorization applies.
• Start any required prior authorization on your behalf so you’re not stuck on hold with your insurer.
• Schedule a clinical evaluation — usually within a few business days of your first call, sooner when the situation is time-sensitive.

If insurance doesn’t cover the service or your plan design doesn’t fit, self-pay options can be discussed. There is no charge to have this conversation. Reach us at (747) 888-3000 or use our insurance verification form.

What Progress Looks Like

Recovery through anxiety and sud is not a straight line, and durable clinical outcomes rarely happen in weeks. Realistic timelines matter here more than optimistic promises. Most patients notice measurable improvement in the first month of consistent treatment — reduced cravings, more stable mood, better sleep, easier engagement with therapy. Substantive behavioral change typically takes root over three to six months.

Progress is reviewed at every clinical visit. We measure it in specifics: frequency of the target behavior, functional recovery in work and relationships, sleep quality, and — where medications are involved — how well the pharmacology is holding cravings and side effects. When something isn’t working, we adjust. That might mean a dose change, a therapy focus shift, or a step up or down in level of care. The plan follows the patient’s clinical picture, not the other way around.

Setbacks are treated as clinical data, not moral failure. If a relapse or symptom flare happens, the team’s job is to understand what led to it and refine the plan. Patients are not discharged for a relapse. Long-term recovery is often what happens after the acute treatment phase ends, and we plan for that from the first visit — through aftercare planning, coordinated hand-offs, and telehealth follow-up available across California.

Confidentiality and HIPAA Protections

Treatment records at Elevated Healing are protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and, for substance use records specifically, under 42 CFR Part 2 — a federal regulation providing additional protection for substance use disorder treatment information. That means treatment status and clinical details are not disclosed to family members, employers, or third parties without your written authorization, except in narrowly defined legal circumstances (imminent harm, court order).

Practical protections include HIPAA-compliant scheduling and communication systems, secure insurance verification channels, and billing structured to minimize what appears on statements. Patients with heightened confidentiality concerns can request specific accommodations at intake — arrival timing, check-in flow, telehealth-first scheduling — and our admissions team will confirm what’s available.

Frequently Asked Questions