Phobia Treatment
Public Speaking Anxiety Treatment in Newport Beach, CA
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC treats public speaking anxiety — glossophobia, stage fright, presentation panic — in Newport Beach and virtually throughout California. Treatment combines clinical hypnotherapy for the physical alarm response, structured rehearsal and exposure, and EMDR when a specific past presentation or performance is still driving the fear. She has practiced since 1997.
Written and clinically reviewed by Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC
Psychotherapist · EMDR Certified · Certified Hypnotherapist · Author of Anxiety Annihilated · Practicing since 1997
Who this page is for
- Executives and founders presenting to boards, investors or all-hands meetings
- Clinicians, attorneys and academics presenting to peers
- Students facing oral exams, defences or class presentations
- Wedding speeches, eulogies, toasts and one-off events
- Anyone who declines opportunities specifically to avoid speaking
- Performers and musicians whose anxiety appears on stage
What is actually happening
Public speaking anxiety is a threat response aimed at social evaluation. The body prepares for danger — heart rate rises, breathing shortens, hands shake, the mouth dries, working memory narrows — which is precisely the state in which recall and fluency degrade. The performance then confirms the fear, and the loop tightens.
This is why preparation alone rarely solves it. Well-prepared speakers still blank, because the problem is arousal regulation, not content. Treatment targets the arousal first, then rebuilds the association between the room and safety.
How treatment works
Clinical hypnotherapy is used to lower the anticipatory surge and to rehearse the presentation while calm, so the nervous system stores a version of the event that is not an emergency. Clients also learn a short self-directed technique they can use in the minutes before speaking.
Where there is a specific memory — going blank mid-presentation, a hostile question, a humiliating school experience — EMDR is used to process it so the memory stops setting the expectation. Graded exposure then moves from imagined delivery to small live audiences to the real setting.
For athletes and performers whose anxiety shows up as blocked technique rather than speech, the same principles are applied in performance anxiety work, including the 'yips'.
Timeframes and deadlines
Many clients arrive with a date on the calendar. A focused course of work for a single upcoming presentation is typically short — often within the five-session phobia protocol. Long-standing, career-limiting speaking anxiety layered on top of social phobia or trauma takes longer, and you will be told which situation yours appears to be after the assessment session.
Sessions take place at 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625, serving Newport Beach and Orange County, or by secure video anywhere in California.
Who you would be working with
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC is a Newport Beach psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, phobias, trauma and chronic pain. She provides EMDR therapy and clinical hypnotherapy and has been practicing since 1997.
- CA LMFT #MFC40173, LPCC #LPC54
- M.A. Clinical Psychology, Azusa Pacific University
- 10× Best Newport Beach Therapist
- 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Creator of The A.R.O.L.Y.N. Method™, the framework behind this work.
Frequently asked questions
Related pages
Ready to take the first step?
In-person appointments at 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625, and secure video sessions anywhere in California. Mon–Wed 11am–8pm, Thu 11am–2pm (by appointment only).