OCD & Anxiety Therapist in Portland & VA
Providing Telehealth Services in OR & VA
OCD and Anxiety Treatment for
Overwhelm, Worry and Stress in Portland
According to American Psychiatric Association, in 2024, 43% of Americans reported to feel more anxious than they did the previous year.
There’s no need to suffer in silence.
Reach out for help.
If you are constantly anxious, overwhelmed or stuck in your head, you are not alone. And you don’t have to keep managing it on your own.
Anxiety Therapy in Portland can help you break free from overthinking, reduce stress, and feel like yourself again.
I work with adults and women struggling with Generalized Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Chronic Stress, and Phobias. Whether your anxiety feels constant or comes in waves, therapy can help you understand it and finally feel more in control.
Anxiety Therapy in Portland can help you understand what’s happening in your mind and body, and give you practical tools to feel more calm, stay grounded, and in control.
I provide services for new moms and adults in Portland, Hillsboro, Beaverton and all across Oregon and Virginia through secure telehealth.
Treating a Variety of Anxiety Disorders in Portland, OR
Social Anxiety
If you are experiencing constant worry, have racing thoughts that won’t stop and feel constantly on edge, you may be struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Through evidence-based therapies like Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we can help you manage GAD and reclaim your sense of calm.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
If you are feeling self-conscious, embarrassed, or worried about being judged by others, you may be experiencing symptoms of Social Anxiety.
We’ll learn about yourself, your thinking patterns , your assertiveness skills. CBT, Assertive Training plus gentle and gradual Exposure Therapy will help you build confidence and comfort in social interactions.
Panic Attacks & Panic Disorder
Panic Attacks can be overwhelming, scary and debilitating. They can put you on a cycle of constant worry and avoidance that can interfere with your regular life activities.
Through evidenced-based approaches like Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), breathing techniques and Mindfulness, I will help you regain a sense of control over your body and your mind and feel calm again.
Get Started with a 15-Minute Consultation
Feel free to text me, call me or email me at geraldine.kuphalMFT.com to book a free phone call.
With help, you can get well.
Anxiety & OCD Therapist for New Moms in Portland
Telehealth Services Throughout OR and VA
From Constant Worry To Living With Confidence After Birth.
You want to be able to sleep, enjoy motherhood and get help. But constant worries and Intrusive Thoughts keep popping up in your mind. Am I a bad mom? Is something bad going to happen?
As an Anxiety Therapist in Portland, I can help you manage your symptoms. Many moms experience symptoms of anxiety, overwhelm and stress after childbirth, but they suffer in silence because of fear of being judged, or called “a bad mom” or “crazy”. But none of that is farther from the truth. You care about your child, your family and want nothing bad to happen.
The first step towards your healing is reaching out to a Perinatal Mental Health Therapist in Portland. I help moms let go of constant worries, feel confident after birth and understand your Intrusive Thoughts: what they are, what they mean, why they happen and how to handle them. We will learn that they are not dangerous.
Postpartum Anxiety & OCD is one of the most misunderstood Perinatal Mental Health conditions. It is often under-diagnosed and can leave mothers suffering in silence and alone.
Anxiety and OCD are treatable and respond well to evidenced-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) combined with Exposure-Based Strategies (ERP). The first step is to schedule a phone call so that we can get you on your healing journey. Reach out!
How Anxiety Therapy in Portland Can Help You Feel Like Yourself Again
With over 14 years of experience, I use evidenced-based approaches such as CBT, Mindfulness and ERP to help adults who feel overwhelmed, stuck in their thoughts, or constantly on edge. I focus in helping people move from chronic worry and anxiety to a place of calm, clarity, and confidence.
Anxiety isn’t just “worry.” It can feel like racing thoughts you can’t turn off, panic that comes out of nowhere, constant tension in your body, or a sense that something bad might happen at any moment. You may be overthinking everything, struggling to relax, or feeling exhausted from trying to hold it all together.
How I’m going to help you:
Understand Intrusive Thoughts and what they mean (and don’t mean)
Stop letting fear make your decisions for you.
ERP helps you face anxiety gradually so it no longer runs your life.Feel calmer in situations that used to trigger panic. We will help your body learns that you’re actually safe.
Spend less time stuck in rituals, checking, or reassurance-seeking.
You’ll build confidence in yourself and the world without needing constant “certainty”.Feel confident to do the things you’ve been avoiding for so long. Either it is social situations, driving a car, leaving the house, going to certain places, etc. Gradual and gentle Exposures will help you regain confidence in yourself and conquer fear.
Tolerate uncertainty so you don’t need constant reassurance.
ERP helps you sit with “not knowing” without feeling overwhelmed.
With the right tools and support, anxiety becomes something you can manage—not something that controls you
Therapy that comes to you
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Support that fits your life
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Therapy that comes to you - Support that fits your life -
FAQ About Anxiety Therapy
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Anxiety can include constant worry, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, irritability, muscle tension, and feeling on edge. Many people also experience panic attacks or avoidance behaviors.
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Yes. Anxiety therapy in Portland can help you understand panic attacks, reduce their intensity, and feel more in control of your body’s response.
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If anxiety is affecting your sleep, relationships, work, or daily life, therapy for anxiety can help you understand your symptoms and develop tools to manage them.
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Postpartum OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) is the type of O.C.D. that can appear either during Pregnancy and/or Postpartum. It involves Intrusive Thoughts about potential risks or harm that can come to baby and that can consume moms in Portland, OR with anxiety and fear.
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Many new moms in experience Intrusive Thoughts or worries about their baby’s safety, especially during Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. If you notice these thoughts taking up a lot of your time or causing excessive anxiety, it doesn’t mean you’re a “bad mom”. Postpartum OCD is a common and treatable condition that can affect parents. Seeking support from a Perinatal Therapist in Portland can help you manage these thoughts safely, reduce your levels of anxiety, and regain a sense of calm and confidence about yourself.
You’re not alone, and these experiences are treatable. I help new moms throughout Portland and surrounding Oregon communities via secure online therapy. Schedule a Phone Call today.
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Intrusive Thoughts:
Thoughts or Disturbing Images related to the safety or wellbeing of baby, such as hurting the baby, dropping the baby, suffocation, etc.
Obsessive worries about cleanliness and safety (e.g., excessive cleaning of surfaces, bottles, floors, etc.)
Unwanted sexual thoughts or violent images involving the baby or family members
Compulsive Behaviors:
Checking behaviors (e.g., repeatedly checking of baby, excessive internet searches and safety precautions)
Constantly washing hands or disinfecting items to avoid contamination
Repetitive rituals (e.g., arranging items in a specific way to feel "safe")
Avoidance behaviors (e.g., avoiding being alone at home with the baby, avoiding certain places)
Sometimes, moms can experiences only Intrusive Thoughts without the Compulsions.
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The good news is that OCD symptoms can rapidly improve with Therapy in Portland.
Therapy Can Help:
Understand Intrusive Thoughts. What they are, where they come from and what they mean. More importantly, what they don’t mean and what to do with them.
Being able to talk about them freely without feeling judged can be healing in itself and can feel like a huge relief.
Find healthy alternative ways to cope with stress. We’ll help you find healthy spaces in your life to relax, recharge and reconnect with yourself and cope with life stressors.
Emotional Support: have a safe place where to talk about this major life transition you are going through. It’s important to feel heard, cared and understood in your concerns as a mother and as a woman.
You are not alone and you are not to blame.
Build your self-confidence, feel empowered as a mom in this new role. Postpartum is a phase of a steep learning curve. You are having to learn quickly many many things about your little one, while also being sleep deprived. This can undermine your self esteem and self confidence. In therapy, I will help you recognize the good mom that you already are and find your identity as a new mom.
Connect with your baby and better enjoy motherhood.
Connect with your partner, improve communication and mutual support and understanding.
Prioritize sleep and in self-care. Is not selfish, is necessary to take care of yourself.
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If your Intrusive Thoughts are connected to past trauma, Trauma Therapy can help. Learn More about Trauma Therapy.
Together we will design a treatment plan that best fits your needs.
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is an evidence-based therapy commonly used to treat OCD and other anxiety disorders. In simple terms, ERP helps you gradually face the thoughts, situations, or sensations that trigger anxiety, without relying on avoidance or safety behaviors that keep the anxiety cycle going. Over time, your mind and body learn that you are safe, and the anxiety begins to decrease. ERP is the Gold Standard approach for OCD.
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Collaborative
Collaborative means that treatment is a two-way street. We will meet each other halfway, each of us actively participating in the process, to reach our shared goal of overcoming your challenges, whatever they may be.
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Strength-based
Strength-based means that, whether you realize it or not, there are unique aspects of who you are today that work in your favor: your life experience, your skills, your belief system, perhaps even your ethnicity or family history. We will identify these and use them as resources to help you heal.
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Cognitive Behavioral
A Cognitive Behavioral is an evidenced-based approach that takes into account how your thoughts affect the way you feel about yourself, other and the world. And how these affect your behavior.