IN PERSON AND ONLINE THERAPY

Reclaim Your Life,
Restore Your Agency.

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WHO WE ARE

About Ventura OCD and Anxiety Therapy

Help for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Are you suffering from unwanted thoughts, compulsive behavior, or problematic perfectionism? Do you feel as though you are trapped in a spiral of anxiety and compelled to perform rituals to feel better? Are you desperate to reclaim the hours spent each day in avoidance and rumination?

Welcome, I’m Teva Johnstone. As a psychotherapist in Ventura, I help people suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders. I’m so glad you landed here.

I treat adults, children, and teens suffering from OCD, anxious worries, specific phobias, and stress. I also work with obsessive-compulsive personality style that has veered into rigidity and workaholism, burning you out and hurting your relationships.

I can assist your recovery from time consuming rituals, unhelpful perfectionism, rumination, and avoidance. Together we will explore your particular difficulties and collaborate on a plan forward based on your individual needs. We will take gradual but concrete steps towards your healing using highly effective, evidence-based treatment.

Teva Johnstone, Licensed Clinical Social Worker No. 103826

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HOW WE HELP

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Therapy in Ventura

Evidence-Based Treatment

As a psychotherapist in Ventura with specialized training in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, anxiety, and specific phobias, I practice evidence-based therapy guided by your goals.

My approach uses gold standard Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) combined with Motivational Interviewing, and skills-based techniques to learn to stop ruminating and restore your agency.

ERP is the first-line treatment for OCD. It is an Exposure-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that is structured yet personalized and flexible. Treatment planning is collaborative and rooted in your unique needs, cultural values, and ideas about the life you want.

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WHAT WE TREAT

Compassionate Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in Ventura

Build Courage With Professional Help

With over a decade of experience as a therapist, my style is warm, direct, and forward moving. When using structured therapies like ERP, I maintain a relational approach and tailor treatment for your individual needs.

My clients feel safe to share things that are embarrassing, scary, or taboo. They feel validated in their pain but they don’t wish to stay in a space of exclusive validation. Many clients have come to me specifically requesting to be challenged, with the understanding therapy is about change and resilience.

While in treatment with me at my office in Ventura or via Telehealth anywhere in California, clients are supported as they do the hard work of breaking free from compulsive behavior and anxious avoidance.

Mental Health & Personal Growth

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  • Specific Phobias

  • Social Anxiety

  • Generalized Anxiety

  • Child & Teen Anxiety

  • Hoarding Disorder

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Personality (Perfectionistic, Driven)

  • Parenting Skills

  • Stress and Burnout

“I urge you to find a way to immerse yourself fully in the life that you’ve been given. To stop running from whatever you’re trying to escape, and instead to stop, and turn, and face whatever it is. Then I dare you to walk toward it.”

— Anna Lembke, MD

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START NOW

Take the First Step Towards Freedom with Exposure Therapy

Break Free From Stuck Patterns

It can be hard to imagine recovery when you’ve been stuck in obsessive-compulsive patterns for a while. It’s important to know you are not alone and highly effective treatment is available both in person and online.

Exposure-based OCD and anxiety treatment helps us learn mastery over things that challenge us. We learn we can leave the prison of rumination, rituals, and avoidance. While facing our fears may seem daunting, this is a crucial step towards freedom.

Many of the people I treat are located in Ventura County, in the cities of Ventura, Ojai, Oxnard, Camarillo, Newbury Park, and Thousand Oaks. I provide in person therapy at my calming office in Ventura (near Ventura College) or via secure Zoom across California.

If you're searching for an OCD Specialist in Ventura, Santa Barbara, or anywhere in California, I’d be happy to support your recovery. Contact me to schedule an intake session or join the waitlist.

Therapy in Ventura and Online

  • Exposure and Response Prevention

  • Rumination-Focused ERP

  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

  • Independence Therapy

  • Integrative & Holistic

Rewrite Your Story With Therapy in Ventura and Online in California

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    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a mental health condition characterized by persistent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) that sufferers feel compelled to perform. Obsessions can cause anxious distress, and time consuming rituals and avoidance. Compulsions are often attempts to alleviate the anxiety generated by the obsessions or to prevent a feared outcome. Ultimately compulsive rituals and avoidance reinforce the cycle of OCD. ERP treatment builds courage, resilience, and helps you develop a different relationship with anxiety and uncertainty. It’s possible to find freedom and learn to hold your fears with flexibility and gentleness. I can help.

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    Anxiety Disorders & Specific Phobias

    Anxiety disorders and specific phobias are mental health conditions that can significantly impact your quality of life. Anxiety disorders include a range of conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. These disorders look like excessive fear or worry that is disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the situation. People with anxiety disorders may spend a significant about of time ruminating about their worries. Effective treatment for anxiety disorders and specific phobias includes evidence-based therapeutic approaches like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
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    SPACE Parent Training for Child Anxiety & OCD

    You can support your child’s tendency for extreme worry, avoidance, and compulsive behavior with family-centered evidence-based therapy. I treat anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in children and teens using the SPACE Program (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) and ERP (Exposure and Response/Ritual Prevention), a form of CBT. The approaches I use are compassionate and empowering. As a parent myself, I know you need high quality treatment with evidence that it actually works.

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