Can therapy help with overthinking?
Therapy is known to be a space where you talk through your problems to reach your own solutions and conclusions. But what does it actually look like when we want to address overthinking?
How do we talk about overthinking without making it worse? Isn’t talking and thinking about thinking too much going to contribute to the issue? This is a fair concern. So let me explain how I approach overthinking in the therapeutic setting.
Step 1 Understanding WHY you overthink
The first step is understanding the nature of your overthinking and when it started.
Have you been overthinking your decision-making processes since something happened that hurt you? And now you want to make sure nothing like that ever happens again?
Or do you overthink because you’re afraid of people’s opinions of you, so you’re constantly trying to make the decision that is most likely to guarantee their approval?
Or perhaps you’re anxious about not getting things right? Maybe you’re a little perfectionistic and afraid of making mistakes, so you overthink as a way of trying to prevent them from happening.
You see, whether you realise it or not, there may be a rationale behind your overthinking. The first step is to understand what purpose it serves and what keeps it going, so we can approach it appropriately.
Step 2 Learning to create DISTANCE from your thoughts
A good starting point is to learn to create space between your thoughts and yourself.
We explore what we call cognitive defusion techniques to help you do this.
Rather than getting caught up in every thought or feeling the need to analyse it, you learn to notice your thoughts without necessarily engaging with them. This can help you break the cycle of overthinking so that your thoughts no longer take up so much space.
Step 3 Identifying cognitive distortions and understanding your window of tolerance
What does this mean? Sometimes, the way we think isn’t simply a reflection of our personality. It can also be influenced by our emotional state and how regulated we feel.
For example, when you’re highly anxious or emotionally overwhelmed, you may be more likely to catastrophise, assume the worst or interpret situations as more threatening than they actually are.
So, part of our work involves identifying the cognitive distortions you may experience, learning to recognise when they show up and developing the skills to challenge them.
Alongside this, we explore the window of tolerance, a model that helps us understand how our level of emotional arousal can affect our ability to think clearly and respond to situations. You expand your self-awareness about your own emotional states, and are able to regulate your emotions more effectively instead of waiting for them to be so overwhelming that you feel consumed by them and your thoughts.
Learning how to regulate your emotions and body can help you respond to your thoughts more flexibly, rather than getting caught up in them. This ability makes you feel more in control and allows you trust in yourself more. That in itself helps with being less in your head or anxious.
Step 4 Identifying the behaviours that MAINTAIN your overthinking
You see, overthinking isn’t just about what happens in your head, but also what you do in response to those thoughts.
Perhaps you constantly seek reassurance from others before making decisions, replay conversations to make sure you haven’t said anything wrong, or avoid making decisions altogether because you’re afraid of getting things wrong.
The problem is that while these behaviours may temporarily reduce your anxiety, they can actually maintain your overthinking in the long run.
So part of our work in therapy is to identify these patterns and gradually change them, helping you become more comfortable with uncertainty and less reliant on reassurance to feel confident in your decisions.
Step 5 Addressing unresolved experiences through EMDR therapy
When there are sufficient emotional regulation skills and overall stability in your life, EMDR therapy may be an excellent treatment option to explore memories that could be contributing to your overthinking. This can be particularly important in the context of trauma.
For example, if you’ve experienced something that left you feeling unsafe, rejected or unable to trust your own judgement, you may have developed a tendency to overanalyse situations in an attempt to prevent yourself from getting hurt again.
When clinically appropriate, EMDR can help you process distressing memories and the beliefs and emotional responses associated with them, potentially reducing the need to constantly anticipate or prepare for something going wrong.
So, can therapy actually help you stop overthinking?
Yes. But not by giving you more things to think about.
The goal isn’t to analyse every thought until you finally reach the perfect conclusion. It’s to understand why you’re getting caught in these thinking patterns, what keeps them going, and how to respond differently.
About the Author
Dr. Pauline Chiarizia is a Counselling Psychologist based in London specialising in trauma, attachment difficulties, and EMDR therapy. She offers online therapy and EMDR for women affected by anxiety, depression, PTSD, relational difficulties, and the lasting effects of difficult or overwhelming experiences.
She works with women who feel emotionally exhausted, persistently self-critical, or stuck in patterns that feel hard to change. Her approach is trauma-informed and evidence-based. Therapy focuses not only on reducing symptoms, but on building internal stability, resilience, and a stronger sense of self-trust.