OCD, Anxiety, and Trauma Specialist
OCD, Anxiety, and Trauma Specialist
Are you ready for a change?
When fear, worthlessness, hopelessness, and shame are in the driver’s seat, we often prioritize avoiding painful emotions and thoughts. We end up feeling disconnected from the lives we truly want for ourselves. Maybe we avoid taking chances on things like relationships, jobs, or other life goals, only to be left feeling worse off.
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, stress, OCD, the baggage of your past, or all of the above, I’m here to help.
I'm Caryn Gill
As your therapist, I don’t want to just talk about your problems. I want to help you dissect them– what are the blind spots that you keep running into? How do they come up, and what can you do to pivot in newer and better directions? Healing requires acceptance of yourself and all that we cannot control, and it requires the willingness to change what isn’t working. My job is to give you a space to practice the dual task of acceptance and change, so that you can take what we do in session and apply it to your day-to-day life.
How I Can Help You
The therapeutic relationship is vital to this journey, so if the descriptions below resonate with you, then I invite you to reach out.
Relational Trauma
We all have “mental frameworks” or “presets” that shape the way we experience and interact with the world, others, and ourselves. These frameworks are influenced by our caregivers. Maybe your upbringing left you with presets that have taught you to push down emotions, or that you’re worthless if you’re not perfect. Maybe you learned to put others’ needs first and that boundaries were a form of betrayal. You might be experiencing burnout, depression, and stress after years of overcompensating for feelings of isolation, worthlessness, or abandonment. Therapy can help you address these painful frameworks so you can move on, stronger and better than before.
OCD and Anxiety
OCD, panic, phobias, and worrying don’t need to run the show. I’ve been specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders since 2018, using effective treatments like Exposure & Response Prevention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Inference-based CBT. If you have been in treatment before but feel like OCD and anxiety are still in the driver’s seat, my integrative approach and extensive experience can help. In addition to helping you figure out how to cope with anxiety in more effective ways, I help you break the patterns of thoughts and behaviors at the root of these experiences.
"I'm feeling stuck in life!"
Maybe you’re generally feeling fine, but fine isn’t good enough anymore. You look at yourself in the mirror, and you wonder what’s missing. If you ever feel like your life is just blah and you want to shake things up and break out the box, I can help you connect with your inner spark. By clarifying what you truly value and want in your life and taking actionable steps towards breaking out of your rut, our work can guide you towards a life that is authentic, vibrant, and fulfilling.
Commonly Asked Questions
I see individuals as parts of a whole- we are the products of our unique histories, families, cultures, and experiences. These factors influence how we have learned to relate to ourselves, to others, and to our day-to-day experiences. As a therapist, I want to know the context of your experiences so that I can best help you change the patterns that are keeping you stuck. Just as these patterns were learned through experience, my job as a therapist is to help provide opportunities to learn different ways of relating to your life experiences.
For sure! Many of my clients were new to therapy when they first reached out to me. They might not have known the name for what they were experiencing. It’s important for me to understand each of my clients’ experiences and struggles. Part of that process involves diagnostic assessments. However, I also value seeing each client from a “zoomed-out” lens in order to identify patterns that may transcend any one singular diagnosis.
I meet with clients virtually through HIPAA-compliant platforms. I also provide in-person sessions. My office is located in Lower Gwynedd, which is located northwest of Center City, Philadelphia.
Although kids and teens are delightful, I typically only work with clients who are 18 or older.
Although talking can provide catharsis, I believe that talking needs to serve a function. Whether that’s as a way to practice tolerating discomfort, engaging in more authentic social connection, identifying ineffective patterns, or numerous other reasons, talking in therapy should not just be for the sake of filling time.
I am in-network with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Independence Blue Cross, Aetna, and Quest. I request that clients confirm their insurance coverage for mental health services, as these services are occasionally covered by third-party companies.
My private pay rate is $150 per 55-minute session. I provide 6 sliding scale spots at a time, ranging from $80-$125 per session. Please reach out directly to inquire about sliding scale availability.
Of course! I’m a therapist first and foremost, not just an OCD technician. There’s certainly a time and place for symptom-focused OCD treatment, and if that is the goal that you want to work towards, I am happy to provide strict ERP. However, I am not solely an ERP therapist, nor am I going to terminate treatment with you as soon as your OCD or anxiety symptoms subside. Therapy is a relationship, and I value your willingness to share your journey with me.
I know you want to get better, and I know you don’t want to feel stuck where you are. When helping individuals with OCD and related anxiety disorders, I use effective and efficient treatment approaches like Exposure and Response Prevention and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. These approaches are all about changing the ways we respond to challenging experiences and building confidence and flexibility in how we move through our lives.
Let’s Get in Touch
Therapy isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of thing, so I’m happy to briefly chat with you through email or on the phone to help us both determine if we’d be a good fit. In addition to the contact form, you can also schedule an initial session directly through my scheduling page.