EVIDENCE-BASED CARE

Evidence-based care for specific concerns.

Structured, targeted psychotherapy for adults navigating anxiety, mood, trauma, OCD, and sleep disorders.

Telehealth in DC and 43+ states nationwide · Bilingual services in English and Spanish

WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE

Deciding to seek help takes courage.

Sometimes therapy begins after a major life change: a promotion, a relocation, a loss. Sometimes it begins after years of managing symptoms that have quietly eroded the quality of your daily life. And sometimes you are not entirely sure what is happening. You just know something needs to change.

If you find yourself:

Replaying perceived mistakes long after the situation has passed.

Engaging in rituals or reassurance behaviors to quiet anxiety, only for the doubt to return stronger.

Lying awake at night mentally preparing for problems that have not happened.

Feeling detached from activities you once valued.

Having waves of panic that feel physically out of control, even in the absence of immediate danger.

You can benefit from targeted therapy to learn how to address these symptoms effectively.

WHAT WE WORK ON TOGETHER

Clinical concerns I work with.

I provide individualized, goal-oriented treatment for the following conditions. Treatment is focused on measurable symptom reduction and functional improvement.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Chronic worry, overthinking, and tension that makes it hard to switch off. We identify worry patterns and build tolerance for uncertainty.

CBT • Mindfulness

Social Anxiety Disorder

Fear of negative evaluation, post-event rumination, and avoidance of social situations. We use gradual exposure and cognitive restructuring.

CBT • Exposure

Panic Disorder

Sudden surges of fear and physical symptoms. We work on reducing avoidance of bodily sensations and breaking the panic cycle.

CBT • Interoceptive Exposure

Health Anxiety

Persistent fear of illness and reassurance-seeking that reinforces the cycle. We build tolerance for uncertainty and reduce checking behaviors.

CBT • Exposure

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & Trauma

Intrusive memories, hypervigilance, and avoidance following difficult experiences. We use structured trauma-focused CBT approaches.

Trauma-Focused CBT

Major Depressive Disorder

Low mood, loss of motivation, and withdrawal. We use behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring to restore engagement with life.

CBT • Behavioral Activation

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Intrusive thoughts, compulsions, and mental rituals. Treated with ERP, the gold standard evidence-based approach for OCD.

ERP • CBT

Insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep. Treated with CBT-I, the most effective non-medication approach for chronic insomnia.

CBT-I

Please note: My practice is not equipped for crisis-level care, active substance use disorders, eating disorders, or unmanaged severe psychiatric conditions. If you need a higher level of care, I am glad to provide guidance and referrals to appropriate resources.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Concrete skills for real life.

My primary orientation is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Where clinically indicated, I draw on interventions from Schema Therapy, DBT, and ERP to to address long-standing patterns, emotional intensity, or specialized symptom presentations.

The work in sessions is skill-based and applied. Between sessions, you practice what we cover. That practice is where the real change happens. Here is a sample of what clients learn:

Cognitive restructuring

Identifying and evaluating unhelpful thought patterns. Not to think positively, but to think accurately.

Behavioral activation

Rebuilding engagement with meaningful activity to interrupt the withdrawal cycle in depression and burnout.

Exposure work

Gradually facing feared situations or sensations to reduce avoidance and build confidence over time.

Mindfulness

Learning to observe thoughts and feelings without reacting. Stepping back to gain perspective rather than being pulled in.

Distress tolerance

Skills for navigating overwhelming moments without making things worse, particularly useful in high-pressure environments.

Sleep hygiene and stimulus control

Evidence-based behavioral strategies for insomnia. Restructuring sleep patterns through behavioral changes.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD

Facing obsessive triggers while resisting compulsive responses. Breaking the cycle that keeps OCD alive.

Action planning

Structured between-session practice to consolidate what you learn in session and build skills through repetition.

THE PROCESS

What therapy looks like from start to finish.

Therapy at Potomac CBT Center is structured and goal-directed. Here is what you can expect across the arc of treatment:

Intake and assessment. We meet for 90 minutes to understand what brings you in, your history, and your goals. I provide a clinical formulation, a map of what is maintaining your symptoms, and we agree on a treatment plan together.

Active treatment. Weekly 60-minute sessions focused on learning, practicing, and applying specific skills. Each session has direction: we review what happened since we last met, work on the clinical content, and set up practice for the week ahead. You will never leave a session wondering what just happened.

Consolidation. As symptoms reduce and skills become more automatic, we shift to every other week. The focus moves from learning new tools to integrating them into your life and building confidence in your own capacity to manage.

Maintenance and termination. Treatment length varies, typically 3 to 12 months depending on the presenting concern. We taper to monthly sessions, review your progress, and prepare for a planned ending. A central goal of CBT is to help you become your own effective therapist, someone who can recognize patterns and apply tools independently.

If this is the kind of structured, goal-directed work you have been looking for, I would love to connect with you.

Ready to Take The Next Step?

Connect with me to find out if we are a good fit.

Questions first? hello@potomaccbt.com – 240 200 0842