Services:

  • Individual Therapy

  • Evaluation & diagnosis

  • Parent sessions

  • Consultation

Therapeutic Modalities:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, depression, and insomnia

  • Exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD and phobias

  • Habit Reversal Training (HRT) for BFRBs

  • Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) for tic disorders

  • Prolonged exposure (PE) for PTSD

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for OCD, anxiety, depression, & PTSD

I treat the following concerns:

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), including themes of: harming self or others, pedophilia, relationships, contamination, illness, & religion

  • Anxiety disorders

  • Phobias (vomiting, needles, heights, flying, etc.)

  • Body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBS) including: hair pulling, skin picking, and nail biting

  • Tic disorders

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • Insomnia

Populations:

  • Children

  • Adolescents

  • Adults

  • LGBTQIA+ welcoming

A photo of Dr. Van Sant looking at her DSM-5, a manual used to diagnose mental health concerns

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of structured and goal oriented therapy that focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Unhelpful and untrue thoughts about ourselves or situations can lead to distress. I use CBT to help clients identify and restructure unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that clients may have about themselves, others, or the world. Clients learning CBT will gain new coping strategies to handle distressing situations.

Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)

ERP is a type of CBT used to treat OCD and phobias. Individuals with OCD and phobias will often avoid the situations that scare them or do compulsions to lessen the anxiety. The two main components of ERP are:

-Gradually confronting your fears

-Limiting compulsions + avoidance

Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

HRT is a type of therapy used to treat body focused repetitive behaviors, such as hair pulling, skin picking, and nail biting. I will work with you to identify triggers, select helpful strategies to replace the repetitive behaviors, and practice relaxation skills.

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)

CBIT is used to treat tic disorders. I will work with you to identify the sensations and triggers leading up to tics. Clients will practice strategies to prevent tics and learn relaxation techniques.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

PE is used to treat PTSD. Individuals with PTSD often avoid situations or people that remind them of their trauma. I use PE to help my clients gradually confront their trauma reminders and process their experience.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT is a type of CBT that can be used to treat many disorders, such as OCD, depression, and anxiety. ACT is focused on values and helps clients find what’s important to them. Clients will learn mindfulness skills and work toward accepting challenging thoughts.