Existential Spirals & OCD
personal therapy to navigate panic, self-doubt, & grief
You are tired of the constant doubt, lingering questions, and compulsions you can’t control.
For folks who want a trauma-informed approach to navigating fears that are connected to our lived realities.
Fears related to our values and beliefs can take over our lives.
Obsessive and Compulsive Disorder can show up as worrying that you may be a pedophile, a bad partner, a person that is out of control, or is negligent. There are many subtypes and experiences of OCD. We can assess what your obsessions are focused on and identify a way to live a life worth living without the constant need for checking, reassurance, or repeating your actions.
We can work at the pace that works best for your nervous system. We will collaborate on which modalities might work best for you, based on your previous experience in therapy and what is showing up for you now.
Inference based CBT (I-CBT)
Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Existential Therapy
Prolonged Exposure
Brainspotting
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I am careful in documentation & navigation of the current political climate. I do not use AI for any kind of note-taking or clinical work. I do not document information about disabilities, neurodivergence, gender, sexuality, or specific traumas.
I also do not document a diagnosis unless there is an agreement between us that you’d like me to for insurance superbill purposes. We will decide together what diagnosis fits what is happening for you.
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Yes! I am training in the specialization of OCD. I take a person-centered stance in treatment approaches, often blending I-CBT, ERP, ACT, and Existential therapy to meet clients where they are in the moment. Read more about my training and lived experience here.
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Yes, grief is a common reason clients come to work with me. I make space for processing traumatic loss of a loved one or community member. I also am well versed in ambiguous grief - the grief that often is overlooked, such as when a loved one is no longer emotionally present but still alive or when relationships are estranged, and disenfranchised grief - the grief that is not well understood by society, such as the loss of a pet or assimilation of cultural knowledge.
Grief does not always fit into the box we place death of loved ones into. Grief due to changes in health, in employment, in purpose, in meaning-making, in what could have been - all are welcome in sessions.
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Yes, I work with anyone who is navigating religious or philosophical trauma. Many people come to therapy with beliefs about morality, faith, and punishment. Those beliefs can guide us towards a life we find worth living, but they can also sometimes trap us in a dichotomy of good and bad, right and wrong, and stop us from being able to make any steps forward. Sometimes the leaders or caregivers in a faith can use their power for abuse.
*I have personal experience with scrupulosity (morality) OCD and was raised in Southern Baptist Evangelical Christian churches, so I have lived experience in this area. I am a nonreligious secular therapist, but please note that this does not mean that I dislike working with religious or spiritual clients. I love hearing about the joy, comfort, and perspective a spiritual practice provides for my clients. I continually seek out education around spirituality to provide competent care to anyone no matter their belief system.
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We’ll work together to understand it - if that’s your goal. If not, know that it’s okay to not know everything. It’s okay to simply sit with the fact that you are feeling pain, and to notice how it might be getting in the way of you living the life you find meaningful.
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Therapy can provide a safe space for reclaiming, retelling, and re-authoring your story. Rage, silence, panic, and overwhelm are all welcome in sessions. We will move through your emotional experience and welcome sensations, memories, and thoughts as they come.
We will blend a trauma treatment with body-awareness, DBT mindfulness skills, and ACT value identification skills so that you can feel supported as a whole person. Just because you’ve experienced trauma doesn’t mean I automatically become your Trauma Only Therapist™
We can work on what comes up for you, even if you might think it’s “a lot.” My job is to hold that space for you.
As a provider who has lived experience with CPTSD, BPD, and PTSD, I learned first hand just how important trauma treatment is.
We will work collaboratively while implementing real tangible skills to keep your head above water.
As we get closer to the life you find worth living, we’ll reconnect with the person you have always been, untangling the shame and guilt you have been living with for too long.