I specialize in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I have worked with people experiencing many different types of obsessions including contamination; questioning personal identity; religious and moral; existential; and fear of harming self or others (see my blog post for more information about OCD subtypes).

I primarily utilize ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) to treat OCD. It works by helping you gradually face the thoughts or situations that trigger your anxiety, without doing the usual compulsions or behaviors you might use to feel better. Over time, your brain learns that you don’t need those compulsions to feel okay, and that you do not need to fear uncomfortable thoughts.

My goal with OCD treatment is to help you feel more comfortable with difficult thoughts and feelings and to feel more empowered to challenge your fears.

There are many types of anxiety including generalized anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, specific fears or phobias. You may be experiencing one of these forms of anxiety or maybe you deal with them all. The good news is all forms of anxiety can be successfully treated in therapy.

Whether it’s constant worry about the past, fear of judgment, or feeling like nothing you do is ever “good enough,” we work together to understand what's driving the anxiety and build practical tools to manage it. One of the most important tools in managing anxiety is behavioral change. We will come up with ways to challenge your fears and confront them in a way that feels manageable and safe. Often, our brains just need to learn that we can handle discomfort that comes with anxiety in order to feel more confident and in control. We will also work on more cognitive (thought based) ways to deal with anxiety and racing thoughts.

Depression can make life feel like a chore to get through. You may feel drained of energy, disinterested in activities, more irritable, or even hopeless. I approach depression through two lenses-acceptance of the things we cannot control and changing the things we can.

We will work together to assess how your current behaviors and lifestyle choices may be impacting your mood and finding ways to make shifts that can improve your daily functioning. These changes may be related to self-care (sleep, diet, routine activities), social connections, or how you treat yourself.

We will also work on creating acceptance around difficult thoughts, feelings, and situations to reframe how you experience depressive symptoms.

Because I am on the younger side, I like to specifically note that I enjoy working with older adults so that you feel comfortable reaching out to me even if we are from different generations. Much of my work experience has been with older adults and I have learned about many of the unique challenges that can come with aging including grief and loss, changes in health and lifestyle, and life transitions such as retirement.

I have great respect for older adults who are striving to improve their lives or make changes to how they manage their feelings. Change and growth is a lifelong process and it is important at all stages of life to recognize this.

Being a teenager is hard. Especially when a mental health concern is present on top of the everyday stress teens face with social lives, thinking about their future, and demands of school.

I often hear from teens that they feel an intense amount of pressure to be “perfect” and this leads to fear, anxiety, and difficulty with self-esteem. I work to help teens prioritize what matters and to learn to accept themselves and their unique strengths and challenges.

Whether it is a specific event that impacted your life or a series of ongoing difficulties that you have experienced, trauma can change the way you see yourself, others, or the world. Traumatic experiences may also be the driving force behind other mental health concerns you have.

I see building safety and trust within the therapy space as the most important step of treating trauma. After that, we may work on processing specific events, finding ways to challenge thoughts that have kept you feeling stuck, or creating a greater level of acceptance for what you have gone through and finding ways to live life guided by your personal values.