Areas of Support & Treatments
Areas of Support
-
Treatments include:
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT)
-
Skin-picking
Hair-pulling
Nail-biting
Other unwanted repetitive behaviors
-
Stress
Low mood and energy
Unhelpful or anxious thinking patterns
Avoidance
-
Trauma
Grief and loss
Sociopolitical stress
Life transitions
-
Identity development
Cultural identity
Intersecting identities
Exploring one's relationship to self, others, and the world
-
Family concerns
Interpersonal concerns
Romantic relationships
Communication
Emotional awareness and regulationFamily concerns
Interpersonal concerns
Romantic relationships
Communication
Emotional awareness and regulation
OCD Treatment
Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP involves being exposed to our fears and intrusive thoughts or obsessions and reducing or eliminating compulsions, which can be mental compulsions, such as rumination, replacing “bad” thoughts with “good” thoughts, or replaying past events in the mind, and physical compulsions, such as repetitive checking, avoidance, and seeking reassurance, to name a few.
In therapy, we will work on creating a hierarchy of exposures, starting with exposures that are less challenging, and work on tolerating uncertainty, returning to life, living in accordance with values, and decreasing avoidance.
Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT)
OCD can be treated with I-CBT, too. I-CBT is more focused on thoughts and refers to obsessions as “obsessional doubts.”
In therapy, we will work through 12 modules, starting with identifying obsessional doubts and learning about how they come to be. In I-CBT, uncertainty is not the concern and we don’t create a hierarchy of exposures. Instead, we practice certainty and the obsessional doubt itself is explored and addressed in therapy.
BFRB Treatment
Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
HRT is a behavioral therapy that helps people reduce unwanted repetitive behaviors, such as skin-picking, hair-pulling, and nail-biting.
In therapy, we will work on first increasing awareness of these behaviors, and then exploring alternative behaviors or actions to implement in order to feel more in control of and eventually reduce the frequency of the repetitive behaviors.
Interested? Let’s talk.
Therapeutic Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Our thoughts, feelings and behaviors are interconnected. That is a core principle of CBT. If we change our behaviors then we may feel and think differently, and if we reframe our thinking patterns then we may feel and behave differently as a result.
In therapy, we will increase awareness of anxious and automatic thoughts and reframe thoughts by exploring alternative perspectives or outcomes of a situation, rather than just the outcome or perspective presented by anxiety and fear. We will also explore and gain insight into core beliefs and fears about the self, others and the world, and how to move through those fears.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT teaches to live according to values, passions, and interests. In therapy, we learn how to be psychologically flexible, like feeling the fear but doing what we care about anyway and not allowing it to define us, or learning how we can accept that doubt will remain present with us and is a normal mental state as we take on the next step in life or make that decision we care about.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a traditionally Buddhist practice that involves directing attention or awareness to what is transpiring in each moment within the mind, body, and one’s immediate surroundings without subjective judgment or reaction, and without ascribing meaning or significance to what’s happening.
It is simply noticing the physical sensations, feelings, and mental processes. It is a practice that one can make part of their everyday life, such as while taking a walk, eating, and during other daily tasks and actions. In therapy, mindfulness can be a useful tool for gently redirecting one’s attention away from unhelpful thinking patterns or intrusive thoughts and into the present moment.
Behavioral Activation
Behavioral activation is a strategy used to challenge low and depressed mood and energy through bodily activation.
This can be any form of physical activity, like exercising, walking, running, or swimming to getting immersed in an activity or task that stimulates the mind. It can also be something as simple as washing dishes, folding laundry or getting chores done around the house.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS suggests that we are made up of various “parts” or sub-personalities that are wounded and need healing and that by embodying our core Self, we can heal those wounded parts.
Embodying the Self means acknowledging that there are no bad “parts” and listening to and approaching those wounded “parts” with compassion, curiosity, and understanding rather than extinguishing or pushing them away.
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT involves understanding ourselves within the relationship with the therapist in order to understand ourselves within the other relationships in our lives. We can understand ourselves and others within relationships by learning about, naming, connecting with, and processing around our emotions. In order to communicate and regulate our emotions, we must first gain an awareness and understanding of them.
Culturally & Spiritually Grounded Approaches
Islamic Psychology
Islamic psychology is an Islamically-focused approach to therapy rooted in Islamic principles. Founded by Muslim scholar al-Ghazali in the 12th century, it focuses on four aspects of the soul: the nafs or lower self, the qalb or heart, the aql or intellect, and the ruh or spirit. In therapy, we will work towards increased insight into the soul and alignment with the spirit.
Liberation Psychology
With roots in Latin America and founded in 1986 by community psychologist and priest, Ignacio Martín-Baró, Liberation Psychology uses psychological approaches to understand and address oppression. Oppression is viewed as the interaction of internal psychological experiences with systemic factors like sociopolitical injustice, and the aim is to cultivate awareness of discrimination and inequality, nurture individuals’ strengths, affirm cultural identities, and promote change to alleviate suffering and improve lives.
Policies & Rates
All services are provided virtually through secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth videoconferencing appointments via SimplePractice. Clients must be located in Washington, DC or Virginia at the time of their appointment.
Short- and long-term individual one-on-one teletherapy, as well as process and support groups, are available.
-
Initial individual intake session: $200 (60 min)
Ongoing individual counseling sessions: $180 (45 min)
Process and support groups: TBD
-
No insurance plans are accepted. However, a superbill will be provided to each client, including diagnoses and diagnostic and CPT codes, which may be submitted to their insurance provider as an out-of-network claim.
-
A 48-hour notice is required for all session cancellations. Otherwise, the session will be a late cancellation. Notification must be received 2 business days in advance of a cancellation. This does not include weekend days.
For example: For an appointment on Monday at 2pm, a notification of cancellation must be sent by 2pm on Thursday the week before. If a session is canceled late, then you will be charged the full session rate for the late cancellation.