Building Expertise, Empowering Lives: How Anxiety Training Shapes Courageous, Compassionate Care

Rachel Schwartz-DeVito knows what it’s like to have panic disorder as a close companion. Since her late teens, she’s lived with it, learned from it, and ultimately transformed that lived experience into her life’s work.

“Like many therapists with lived experience, I always knew I wanted to help others struggling with anxiety disorders,” Rachel shares.

It’s this dual perspective – clinician and someone who understands from the inside – that shapes how she shows up for her clients.

Building a Foundation, Then a Practice

When Rachel found Anxiety Training, she didn’t just take one workshop and move on. She dove in completely.

The initial two-day training provided her with a foundational understanding, treatment plans, screening tools, and practical skills. But she kept going – accessing the online resources, additional clinical trainings, live consultation sessions, and individual supervision as needed. She built her expertise systematically, surrounding herself with the community and support that would help her grow.

The Notebook and the Promise

At every first session, Rachel does something specific: she gives each new client a notebook and folder. It’s a ritual she learned in the Assessment module, and it comes with a message she has written in her notes as a direct quote from Elizabeth:

“You are going to be writing your own self-help manual so you can work me out of a job.”

It’s not just a nice sentiment – it’s the entire philosophy in one sentence. Clients aren’t passive recipients of treatment. They’re learning to become their own experts.

Rachel’s approach is deeply rooted in what she learned from Kimberly and Elizabeth. She explains the brain the way Kimberly teaches it – for every client, no matter what the anxiety disorder. She uses fear hierarchies to develop exposures. She reminds clients constantly: “Success is in the trying.”

And for her clients with social anxiety? “I love going on silly walks with them.” It’s exposure therapy that honors both the evidence base and the humanity of the experience.

The Text That Felt Like an Academy Award

Rachel describes one client’s journey with the kind of detail that shows just how much these moments matter to her.

The client came in with claustrophobia and aerophobia. She wanted to visit her son in Colorado but hadn’t been on a plane since 2018. She also avoided trains, buses, elevators – anywhere she might feel trapped. The core fear? Having a panic attack on the plane with no way to escape.

“She worked so hard, was so brave,” Rachel recalls. They did creative exposures, interoceptive exposures. Rachel took the train with her to Penn Station in NYC. Step by step, they built toward the goal.

Summer 2024: the client flew to Colorado. Rachel got a text – a photo of her client and her family hiking in the mountains.

“For me, it was like winning an Academy Award! When clients’ lives change, expand, improve, and they’re a different version of themselves than when they started, it’s magic.”

How the Training Changes Everything

For Rachel, Anxiety Training has been transformative in a way that extends beyond her clinical practice.

“It’s shaped not only how I treat anxiety but how I live with anxiety,” she explains. “It has given me the tools and confidence to provide a level of expertise and support that makes my work stand out.”

When she thinks about other therapists considering this training, her message is inclusive and encouraging:

“No matter where you are in your career, no matter what your skill set, expertise, or experience, Elizabeth and Kimberly have created an environment of growth, opportunities, shared ideas, and personal and professional support that lifts us all up.”

That last part – “lifts us all up” – captures something essential about the Anxiety Training community. It’s not just about what you learn. It’s about who you become part of, how you’re supported, and how you grow alongside others doing this same challenging, meaningful work.

Rachel knows what it’s like to live with anxiety. She also knows what it’s like to help someone get on a plane for the first time in six years and fly toward the people they love.

That’s the work. And she’s building a practice – and a life – around making more of those moments possible.

Connect with Rachel:  www.rachelschwartzdevito.com