Specialties

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition characterized by a distressing cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intense anxiety or distress. Compulsions are the repetitive physical behaviors or mental acts an individual feels driven to perform in a repetitive effort to neutralize that anxiety or prevent a feared event, creating a rigid cycle that can significantly interfere with daily functioning and quality of life.

Anxiety Disorders encompass a group of mental health conditions including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Specific Phobias characterized by excessive, persistent, and uncontrollable fear or worry that is disproportionate to the actual threat. While a phobia involves an intense, irrational fear of a specific object, animal, or situation, anxiety disorders more broadly cause chronic physical tension, hypervigilance, and cognitive distress. Left untreated, individuals frequently engage in avoidant behaviors that constrict their daily lives and social connections.

Hoarding Disorder is characterized by persistent difficulty parting with or discarding possessions, regardless of their actual material value, driven by a perceived need to save the items and intense distress associated with discarding them. This accumulation of items progressively clutters living spaces to the extent that their intended use is substantially compromised. The resulting environment can create significant safety hazards, emotional strain, and severe disruptions to the daily functioning of both the individual and their family members.

Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) are a cluster of chronic, compulsive grooming behaviors that result in unintentional damage to the body. Common manifestations include hair pulling (trichotillomania) and skin picking (excoriation/dermatillomania). These behaviors sensory-driven habits that individuals often utilize to regulate overwhelming stress, anxiety, boredom, or under-stimulation, rather than a way to directly harm themselves.

Perinatal Mental Health Concerns refer to a spectrum of mood and anxiety disorders that occur during pregnancy or within the first year postpartum. This goes significantly beyond the transient "baby blues" or “new parent nerves” to include conditions such as perinatal depression, anxiety, OCD, and birth-related PTSD. Driven by a combination of rapid biological shifts, sleep deprivation, and psychological adjustments, these struggles are highly treatable and clinical support is vital for restoring the well-being of both the parent and the developing infant.

Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCRDs) in early childhood including conditions like separation anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, early-onset OCD, skin picking, and hair pulling in toddlers and young children, manifest uniquely compared to older populations. Because young children lack the developmental language to articulate internal distress or complex obsessions, their symptoms often present as rigid, repetitive behavioral routines, extreme distress or tantrums when rituals are interrupted, or compulsive physical habits. Clinical interventions at this stage focus heavily on supporting the caregiver-child dynamic, prioritizing developmentally tailored interventions, and teaching families how to gently disrupt these cycles and restore a healthy developmental trajectory without amplifying the child's underlying anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based, goal-oriented treatment centered on the relationship between an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In therapy, patients learn to identify and reframe unhelpful or distorted thinking patterns and modify maladaptive behaviors. By developing practical, actionable coping strategies, patients can effectively manage distress, improve emotional regulation, and navigate daily challenges with greater resilience.

Exposure and Response Prevention (E/RP) is a specialized form of cognitive behavioral therapy widely recognized as the gold standard for treating obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders. Under the guidance of a clinician, clients are systematically exposed to thoughts, images, or situations that trigger their anxiety (Exposure) while actively choosing to abstain from performing their usual compulsive behaviors or rituals (Response Prevention). Over time, this process helps the brain relearn that the feared outcomes are unlikely to occur (inhibitory learning) and that the resulting distress can be managed (distress tolerance) and safely decrease on its own (habituation).

Habit Reversal Training (HRT) is a highly structured, behaviorally focused intervention designed to help individuals gain control over repetitive, unwanted physical behaviors. Treatment centers on developing "awareness training" to help clients recognize the subtle physical and psychological urges or environmental triggers that precede the habit. Once awareness is established, patients are taught to implement a "competing response,” a physically incompatible action that safely blocks the unwanted behavior until the underlying urge subsides.

The Comprehensive Behavioral Therapy for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (ComB) is an extension from HRT for BFRBs. the ComB model comprehensively assesses how a patient’s Sensory (sensations), Cognitive (thoughts), Affective (emotions), Motor (behaviors), and Place (environment; SCAMP) all contribute to the hair pulling and skin picking. Clinicians then collaborate with the patient to select targeted, tailored interventions across these five domains to manage triggers and cultivate sustainable, healthier sensory outlets.

PCIT is an evidence-based short-term treatment utilizing a live coaching model for young children (typically ages 2 to 7) that focuses on strengthening the parent-child relationship while teaching caregivers how to manage behavior in a supportive, consistent way.

PCIT-CALM is an adaptation of PCIT that is designed to treat anxiety disorders such as social anxiety, specific phobia, excessive worry, and separation anxiety in children ages 2-7. It includes psychoeducation, parent coaching, and exposures to help parents and children manage anxiety.