ANXIETY AND OCD THERAPY IN VANCOUVER, BC

when your parts feel safe, everything softens.

Anxiety and OCD can feel like living with a brain that’s always “on.”

Scanning for danger, rehearsing worst-case scenarios, or managing discomfort through rituals, reassurance, or overthinking. It’s exhausting, not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because your nervous system has learned to stay on high alert.

In therapy, we slow things down to understand what your anxiety or compulsions are trying to protect you from. Often these patterns come from protective or younger parts that learned vigilance was the only way to stay safe.

In therapy, we slow everything down so we can understand what your anxiety or compulsions are actually trying to protect you from. Often these patterns come from parts of you that have been carrying fear, shame, or responsibility for a long time: younger or protective parts that believe they must stay vigilant so nothing bad happens again.
Using Internal Family Systems and parts work, we explore these inner voices and sensations with curiosity rather than judgment. Instead of fighting your anxious parts, we build a relationship with them. We learn why they show up, what they’re afraid will happen if they don’t, and how to support them in ways that don’t take such a toll on your daily life. When these parts feel seen and understood, they soften, and the intensity of thoughts and urges begins to shift.
My approach blends parts work, somatic practices, and evidence-based strategies like exposure and response prevention. We work with the body as much as the mind, helping your system learn what safety feels like instead of relying on constant mental monitoring.