Types of Therapy

If you've been searching for a therapist, you've probably come across a bunch of acronyms for different types of therapy, most likely CBT, EMDR, DBT, and more. It can be confusing, even for therapists sometimes! The good news is that you don't necessarily need to know which type of therapy is "right" for you. We can figure that out together. If you would like to do some learning on your own, click here.

During the early stages of treatment, we'll work together to understand what you're experiencing, how it is persisting, and why. We'll explore the biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors contributing to your symptoms and use that information to guide our work.

Sometimes the best therapeutic approach is clear from the start. Other times, it takes time to fully understand what's going on. Mental health is complex, and even conditions that look similar on the surface can be maintained by different underlying processes.

For example, generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder can both involve anxiety, difficulty with uncertainty, and repetitive thinking patterns. However, research suggests these conditions are often maintained by different psychological and neurobiological processes and therefore may respond best to different evidence-based interventions.

Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, I tailor treatment to the processes maintaining your symptoms and choose interventions supported by research. Your feedback throughout therapy is an important part of this process and helps us adjust treatment as we learn more.

Curious about the science behind anxiety and OCD?
Learn how the brain's "alarm system" and "thinking system" contribute to different conditions, and why different treatments work.→ Learn More

My Therapeutic Approaches

The following approaches serve as the primary framework for our work. I also draw from other evidence-based methods when appropriate, so the work stays aligned with your specific patterns and goals.

  • Evidence-Based For

    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder

    • Social Anxiety Disorder

    • Panic Disorder

    • Specific Phobias

    • Depression

    • Insomnia (CBT-I)

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an umbrella of evidence-based therapies based on the understanding that cognition (how we think), emotion (how we feel), physiology (how our bodies respond), and behavior (what we do) continuously influence one another.

    For many anxiety disorders, CBT targets maladaptive cognitive patterns (unhelpful thinking habits), behavioral avoidance (staying away from situations that trigger anxiety), and safety behaviors (things we do to temporarily feel safer, but that unintentionally maintain anxiety).

    Treatment may include identifying cognitive distortions (thinking errors), testing predictions through behavioral experiments (real-life opportunities to gather evidence), and gradually building confidence in your ability to tolerate uncertainty and discomfort.

  • Evidence-Based For

    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    Unlike traditional CBT, which often examines whether a thought is accurate, I-CBT focuses on the inferential confusion (the reasoning process that leads someone to trust imagined possibilities over direct experience) that maintains obsessional doubt.

    Rather than asking, "Is this fear realistic?", I-CBT explores "How did my mind arrive at this conclusion?" Treatment helps clients recognize when they have shifted from reality-based reasoning (trusting what they directly observe) to possibility-based reasoning (getting pulled into "what if..." scenarios), allowing them to reconnect with ordinary reasoning and reduce compulsive behaviors.

  • Evidence-Based For

    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

    • Specific Phobias

    • Panic Disorder

    • Social Anxiety Disorder

    Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is considered the gold-standard psychological treatment for OCD.

    ERP is based on inhibitory learning (helping the brain form new learning that competes with old fear associations) rather than simply reducing anxiety.

    Through repeated exposure (intentionally approaching feared thoughts, situations, sensations, or uncertainty) while preventing compulsive responses (resisting rituals, reassurance-seeking, or avoidance), the brain learns that anxiety naturally rises and falls without needing compulsions to restore safety.

    Over time, this weakens the learned association between perceived threat and compulsive behavior while strengthening confidence in your ability to tolerate uncertainty.

  • Evidence-Based For

    • Anxiety Disorders

    • Depression

    • OCD (adjunctive)

    • Chronic Pain

    • Health Anxiety

    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is based on increasing psychological flexibility (the ability to experience difficult thoughts and emotions while continuing to act in ways that reflect your values).

    Rather than trying to eliminate unwanted internal experiences, ACT teaches acceptance (making room for thoughts and feelings without fighting them), cognitive defusion (learning to see thoughts as thoughts rather than facts), mindfulness (bringing attention to the present moment), and values-guided action (choosing behaviors based on what matters most rather than what anxiety demands).

    The goal is not to eliminate discomfort, but to reduce its influence over your life.

  • Additional evidence-based methods may be incorporated as needed, based on your specific patterns and goals.

    This may include elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), or narrative-based work—supporting areas such as emotion regulation, motivation, and how you make sense of your experiences.

Research & References

One of my commitments as a therapist is to continue learning throughout my career. As I pursue additional specialized training, I'll thoughtfully integrate new evidence-based approaches when they align with my practice and update this page to reflect those additions.

MORE TO COME