Therapy
My Practice is Rooted in Evidence-Based Treatment
Sessions are available in person and virtually. In person is recommended for most adolescents.
I treat adolescents and adults experiencing:
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – All sub-types and themes
- OCD with Co-occuring Trauma
- Anxiety Disorders – Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia
- Parenting Support and Coaching – For parents with adolescents or adult children living at home who have significant anxiety and/or OCD
- Adolescent Adjustment Problems
Exposure and Response Prevention
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a behavioral approach to treatment. People willingly face their fears progressively, starting with less anxiety-provoking triggers. Often it’s best to begin by working on response prevention or reducing rituals/compulsions. This is practiced with the therapist and then assigned as homework and practiced between sessions. The same is true with exposures. Practice confronting feared stimuli while refraining from rituals, compulsions, or avoidance, moving from less- to more-feared stimuli. ERP works most effectively when practiced regularly.
Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) views obsessions as doubts that are unwittingly created by the person with OCD rather than random intrusions. Through I-CBT, clients learn how they are creating and maintaining obsessional thoughts, using obsessional reasoning, and dismissing what their senses tell them is real. Clients learn to identify and untangle these components and trust their perceptions in the present moment. As they master these skills, reality trumps doubt, the rest of the OCD sequence fades, and there’s no need for compulsions.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) addresses trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other conditions through bilateral stimulation (eyes following repeatedly from side to side; crossed arms tapping one then the other, etc.). One goal of this structured treatment is to help people heal from trauma in a relatively short amount of time. EMDR therapy aims to focus directly on the target memory and is intended to change the way that memory is stored in the brain. This reduces and may eliminate the problematic symptoms.
In addition to ERP, I-CBT, and EMDR, I utilize tools from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). My approach includes the use of several different therapeutic modalities which allows for everyone I work with to receive personalized treatment to address their specific needs and concerns while still relying on evidence-based treatment.
Licensed Psychologist
© Susan Wagner PhD 2024