Evidence Based Therapy
If you’ve struggled with intrusive thoughts, persistent anxiety, or panic, I know how difficult it can be to feel truly seen in the therapy room. My mission is to help you live free from anxiety and step back into your world with confidence.
I offer Telehealth sessions as well as community based exposure sessions. "Community based" means that I meet you in a public setting where we can practice functional exposures.
My practice is grounded in evidence-based, collaborative care.
I offer free 15-minute video consultations to answer questions and help you get started!
My Specialties
-
Anxiety Disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) as well as more specific diagnoses such as Social Anxiety. If you struggle with uncontrollable worry about daily life events or an intense fear of judgement from others, you may fit in this category.
-
OCD is characterized by intrusive thoughts or images that are persistent and feel impossible to escape. These thoughts cause anxiety and prompt an individual to do specific actions, i.e. compulsions, to neutralize intrusive thoughts or avoid a feared outcome. Compulsions can be mental or physical.
-
Panic Disorder involves unexpected panic attacks that repeat consistently and cause fear or dread. You may find yourself worried about the next time a panic attack may come on, or easily triggered by physical sensations of panic like a racing heart or feeling lightheaded. Agoraphobia is closely related to Panic Disorder and can cause increasing difficulty leaving the comfort of home or venturing into open spaces.
-
Intense, excessive fear of specific situations or objects can develop into a phobia if untreated. As anxiety increases, it can cause us to avoid situations, media content, or thoughts about the thing we fear. Some examples include fear of driving, flying, vomiting, spiders, needles, etc.
-
Hair-pulling (Trichotillomania) and skin-picking (Excoriation Disorder) are Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) involving irresistible, chronic, and damaging urges to pull out hair or pick at skin. These disorders operate similarly to OCD with intrusive thoughts related to picking, anxiety, and subsequent urges to complete compulsions.
How I help
Research backed therapy and collaboration are core values at the center of my clinical practice. With each client, I work to develop a personalized treatment plan customized to their unique needs.
-
A method from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, ERP is a widely used treatment for anxiety disorders. Together, we identify triggers and create a collaborative hierarchy of exercises to confront anxiety through exposure to feared thoughts, images, or situations. During response prevention, the client learns to resist engaging in avoidance and other unhelpful compulsions that fuel dysfunction.
-
ICBT is an evidence-based treatment for OCD. This approach helps clients recognize reasoning errors that lead to absorption in intrusive thoughts, images, and “what if” scenarios. Through a series of twelve modules, clients gain an understanding of the inner workings of OCD and how to return to trusting their senses and self-confidence.
-
Learning to recognize and reconnect with personal values is also a core element of our treatment process. With influence from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), clients will learn skills to identify valued activities, practice mindfulness, and align actions with core beliefs. Values may include social relationships, family, and spiritual or faith-based beliefs.
Session Format
Telehealth
Treatment begins with Telehealth, where I can get to know you, your anxiety, and we can build an exposure hierarchy together.
Then, if you'd like, we can integrate community based sessions where we get to practice exposure exercises in settings anxiety has caused some dysfunction.
In the community
"Community based" means that I meet you in a public setting where we can practice functional exposures.
At this time, Community Based sessions are limited to St. Petersburg. Sessions in surrounding areas may be available for an additional fee on a case by case basis.
Examples:
Setting: Busy Grocery Store
Exposures: Social Anxiety Related - Make small talk with 3 employees, ask for directions to an item, etc
Setting: The Airport
Exposures: Fear of Flying Related - Ride tram to terminal, Read Fearscript at airport gate
FAQs
-
Intake Session: $230
The intake session is an 80 - 90 minutes in length. This allows ample time for us to discuss your primary reasons for seeking therapy and for me to provide detailed psychoeducation on treatment options.
Standard Session via Telehealth: $160
Standard sessions are 50 minutes in length. At this time all standard sessions are conducted via telehealth through a HIPAA compliant platform, Simple Practice.
Community Based Sessions: $185
Community based sessions are also 50 minutes in length unless otherwise agreed upon. Above is the baseline fee for sessions within St. Petersburg. Community sessions in surrounding areas may be available for an additional fee on a case by case basis.
-
My practice is currently out-of-network with insurance agencies. This allows for the utmost privacy in your treatment, and the flexibility to meet in the community for exposure sessions. I am happy to provide a Superbill for reimbursement, and have had clients receive up to 80% of their fees back contingent on their benefits.
-
Session fees are due at the completion of each appointment, no pre-payment necessary! Accepted payment methods are: credit / debit card, Health Savings Account, Paypal, or bank transfer. I offer a confidential patient portal through Simple Practice where clients can upload information for their preferred payment method.
-
Clients must provide 24 hours notice in order to cancel an appointment with no cancellation fee. Sessions can be cancelled through the patient portal, or by reaching out through secure client messaging or via email. If a session is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, the full session fee applies. Session fees may be partially waived due to a verifiable emergency on a case by case basis.