I use a blend of two evidence-based therapies: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). 

You are more than your thoughts, and so is the world around you. ACT is an action-oriented therapy that helps you stop avoiding or fighting with your inner emotional life. ACT guides you to accept and separate from distressing thoughts as they arise and commit to behaviors that reflect your values (i.e., what’s actually important to you!), so that you can live free of burdensome thought cycles and seek the connections and experiences you crave. 

ERP is a specialized, evidence-based therapy that helps you intentionally and carefully confront anxiety-provoking triggers and resist the urge to perform compulsive or avoidant behaviors to relieve the anxiety. I partner with you to develop resources to navigate triggers and construct a fear and trigger hierarchy. I may have you perform exposures inside and outside of the therapy room. This therapy can be used (and often is in my practice) in conjunction with ACT. 

In ACT, we’ll explore and define your values. I’ll guide you through the “value-mapping” process. 

Value-mapping helps us identify what’s important to us. Outside of any intrusive thought, compulsion, or fear, how do you want to spend your time? Behind the scenes, your values guide every little thing in our lives: your relationships, career, what music you listen to, what food you eat, even where you vacation. Constructing a system of values via value-mapping is how we get to know ourselves deeply, and make choices aligned with what we want and not what our OCD, anxiety, or panic may tell us to do. 

To start, we’ll choose language to describe your values. Then, we’ll explore them across your entire lifespan. We’ll discuss how your values impact you across your life story and investigate questions such as: “Where did you learn these values? What did they feel like to learn? Who did you learn them from and in what experiences did you find them?”

Through this exploration, we create a “core system” of values, based entirely on your vision and experience, that you can rely on as you navigate life’s waters. Finally, we turn values into real, tangible systems that encourage action! I’ll help you make “value-guided actions” to orient you towards what is important and worthwhile to you.

If what is important to you is hidden or you don’t currently have language for it, it’s easy to feel hopeless, directionless, or driven by fears and doubts. This therapy track is helpful for clients navigating life transitions and those who are developing a sense of self, managing OCD, recovering from childhood neglect, and much more.

I blend “process” work (e.g., deep discussions, exploring your background, navigating tough days and current challenges) with “skills-based” work (e.g., homework, assignments, ACT and ERP-based psychoeducation) to create a blend of catharsis and measurable change.

Therapy, and time spent in it, is variable depending on your concerns and symptoms. Together throughout the therapy process, we’ll assess where you are in treatment and determine the best course of action.

Please note that if we finish our work together, or you need additional care outside my scope of practice (e.g., Depression, ADHD), I will provide resources and referrals for you.