INTENSIVE WEEKEND WORKSHOP
The Neuroscience
of Anxiety Workshop
Understand Your Brain. Change Your Brain. Reclaim Your Life.
Your anxiety isn't a character flaw — it's your brilliant brain using Stone Age solutions for Space Age problems. In just two mornings, you'll finally understand exactly what's happening in your brain, and learn proven CBT strategies to change it.
Next Workshop:
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 April 2026 (10am–12noon) | Online via Zoom | Maximum 12 Participants | Registration Now Open
Does This Sound Familiar?
You're a successful professional who's mastered complex challenges at work — yet anxiety keeps running quietly in the background of your life.
Here's the truth: your anxiety isn't broken thinking. Your brain's alarm system is doing exactly what it was designed to do — it's just doing it at the wrong times, with the wrong intensity, and it won't switch off when you need it to.
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The Overthinking That Won't Stop
Your mind runs through every scenario, every conversation, every potential outcome — long after the moment has passed. Logic doesn't help. Telling yourself to relax doesn't work. The thoughts just keep coming, and you're exhausted from managing them.
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Anxiety Despite "Having It Together"
On paper, everything looks fine. But underneath, there's a constant low hum of worry, a sense that something could go wrong, a tightness that never fully goes away. You can't explain it to people, because by their measure you have nothing to be anxious about.
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You're Wondering If This Is Just How You Are
You've tried breathing exercises. Positive thinking. Maybe even therapy. Some things helped a little, but the anxiety comes back. You're starting to wonder if this is just your personality — if this is simply how your brain works, and you're stuck with it.
The Missing Piece: Brain Science
After 14 years helping professionals transform their relationship with anxiety, I've learned that lasting change happens when we work with your brain — not against it.
Most approaches fail because they try to solve emotional problems with logical solutions. They teach coping techniques without addressing the underlying brain patterns that override those techniques the moment you're triggered.
The Neuroscience of Anxiety Workshop is different. We start with understanding how your unique brain creates anxiety — the specific patterns it runs, the triggers that activate it, the loops that keep it stuck. Then we teach you to interrupt those patterns and create new responses using evidence-based CBT strategies.
Your Weekend Learning Journey
SATURDAY 12 APRIL • 10AM - 12NOON
Day 1: Understand Your Brain
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Anxiety Is Normal — But Yours Is Stuck
Most people know they're anxious. Very few understand why — or what's actually keeping it stuck. This module gives you the foundational neuroscience that makes everything else click into place.
✓ What anxiety actually is: fear + your survival brain + language
✓ Why anxiety is normal — and what goes wrong when it gets stuck
✓ Your three-brain system and the one job it's trying to do
✓ Why thinking and avoidance keep the anxiety loop running
✓ How your brain can change — the neuroscience of neuroplasticity
✓ Breathing exercise: your first tool for calming the survival brain
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How Your Brain Behaves — and Why
You can't rewire a brain you don't understand. This module goes deeper into how your brain specifically manages thinking, feeling, and behaving — and what happens when it goes into fight or flight.
✓ Making sense of your brain: how you think, feel, and behave — and how they connect
✓ Your fight/flight responses: what triggers them and why they're so hard to override
✓ The critical difference between thoughts and feelings (most people confuse them)
✓ How your brain learns patterns — and how it can unlearn them
✓ Identifying your unique brain patterns and what drives them
✓ Assessment: mapping your personal anxiety profile
SUNDAY 13 APRIL • 10AM - 12NOON
Day 2: Change Your Brain
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Understand and Change Your Thinking
Your brain automatically processes information in negative and unhelpful ways — not because something is wrong with you, but because that's what anxious brains do. This module teaches you to catch it, challenge it, and change it.
✓ How negative automatic thinking works — and why you can't just "think positive"
✓ The most common thinking traps that keep anxiety stuck
✓ CBT thought records: a practical tool for examining what your brain is telling you
✓ The space between stimulus and response — and how to create it
✓ Why you are not your thoughts (and what this means for change)
✓ Strategies to rewire your thinking and feel more in control
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Understand Your Feelings — and the Hidden Drivers
Feelings and thoughts create a vicious cycle that keeps anxiety alive. This module teaches you how feelings actually work, how to soothe them — and how to uncover the deeper patterns that make some anxiety feel impossible to shift.
✓ The vicious cycle between thoughts and feelings — and how to exit it
✓ How to deal with stressful situations without falling into fight/flight
✓ Strategies to soothe and manage difficult feelings that take you down
✓ Unconscious schema thinking: why some patterns feel sticky and persistent
✓ Understanding the hidden beliefs that drive self-sabotage
✓ Your personalised anxiety management plan: what to do, starting today
Workshop
Experience
This intensive workshop is designed for professionals ready to invest in genuinely understanding their anxiety — not just managing it temporarily. Come prepared to engage fully and implement what you learn.
Two Intensive Sessions: Saturday & Sunday, 2 hours each morning (10am–12noon)
Small Group Learning: Maximum 12 participants for personal attention and real interaction
Interactive Format: Theory + Practice + Real-time Q&A — not a passive lecture
Comprehensive Materials: Workshop workbook with exercises, assessments, and daily practice tools
Workshop Recording: Full recording delivered after each session for review and reinforcement
Ongoing Support: 30 days of email support for implementation questions after the workshop
Workshop Success Stories
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"I finally understood why my anxiety kept coming back even when things were going well. Dr. Sharyn explained the brain in a way that made complete sense — for the first time I felt like I actually had a handle on it, instead of just hoping it would go away."
— Sarah M., Marketing Director, Abu Dhabi
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"The workshop gave us the 'why' behind my anxiety patterns and the 'how' to change them. Three months on, I'm still using the techniques daily. I understand my brain now — and that changes everything."
— James K., Finance Consultant, Dubai
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"Dr. Sharyn's brain-first approach made everything click. Instead of feeling like something was wrong with me, I understood exactly what my brain was doing — and exactly what I could do about it."
— Layla A., Engineering Manager, UAE
Your Investment in Change
AED 900
AED 900 (same investment for individuals — one price, no upsells)
Complete weekend intensive + workbook + 30-day support
4 hours of intensive anxiety education across two mornings
Comprehensive anxiety assessment and personal pattern mapping
Interactive exercises with real-time coaching and Q&A
Professional workshop workbook with exercises and tools (AED 150 value)
Full workshop recording delivered after each session
Small group format — maximum 12 participants
30 days of email implementation support
Compare: Individual Expert Consultation: AED 1,195 per session. You'll receive equivalent value to 4+ consultations, plus the benefit of group learning and peer perspective — at a fraction of the cost.
Early bird pricing AED 750 available for the first 6 registrations
Meet Your Workshop Leader
Dr. Sharyn Kennedy, PhD | Licensed Psychologist
14 years of specialised experience helping professionals transform their relationship with anxiety in Abu Dhabi. PhD in social cognition with advanced training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and brain-based approaches to emotional regulation.
Over 3,000 client transformations combining rigorous neuroscience with practical solutions that fit busy professional lives. Her brain-first approach helps people understand WHY they get anxious before learning HOW to create lasting change.
Cultural expertise working with diverse nationalities and professional backgrounds in the UAE, understanding the unique stressors facing international professionals and expat families.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This is an intensive educational workshop, not therapy. You'll learn evidence-based psychological skills — the same foundational knowledge I use with individual clients — delivered in a group learning format. If you're experiencing significant clinical anxiety, the workshop can powerfully complement professional support, but it is not a substitute for individual treatment.
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This often accelerates progress in individual work. Understanding the neuroscience of anxiety and the principles of CBT gives you a much clearer framework — many clients find it makes their 1:1 sessions more efficient and focused, and helps them apply insights between appointments.
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The workshop itself is 2 hours each morning — Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12noon. That's your only required commitment. You can review the recording in your own time, and the workbook exercises are designed to take 10–15 minutes per day. No homework deadlines, no pressure — just tools available when you're ready to use them.
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You share only what you're comfortable sharing. The workshop is educational in format — I'm teaching, not running group therapy. Participation in exercises and discussion is always voluntary, and we establish ground rules about confidentiality and respect from the start. Many participants find that hearing others' experiences actually normalises their own, but you are never required to disclose anything.
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CBT is one of the most extensively researched psychological approaches available — the evidence base is strong. That said, different people respond to different techniques, which is why you'll receive a range of tools rather than a single method. And if you want more personalised support after the workshop, you can book an Expert Consultation where we tailor everything specifically to your patterns.
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You'll receive a comprehensive digital workbook before the workshop, full recordings of both sessions after delivery, a CBT tools reference guide, and a resource list for ongoing self-directed learning. The recordings are yours to keep and revisit whenever you need a refresh.
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Books and online courses give you information. This workshop gives you understanding. The difference is that you can ask questions, get real-time feedback, work through exercises with guidance, and hear how the same concepts land for other professionals in the same boat. Information alone rarely changes behaviour — interactive learning with an expert facilitator does.
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This workshop isn't just for people in crisis — it's for anyone whose anxiety is getting in the way of living the life they want, even a little. If overthinking, worry, or stress is costing you sleep, clarity, or enjoyment, this workshop will give you tools you can use immediately. You don't need to be suffering dramatically to benefit from understanding how your brain works.