IN PERSON & ONLINE THERAPY

Therapy to Restore Hope
With Teva Johnstone

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Therapy to Restore Hope with Teva Johnstone in Ventura

Help for OCD, Phobias, and Anxiety

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

Licensed Therapist and OCD Specialist

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

I treat adults, children, and teens suffering from OCD, anxious worries, fears, and stress. I also work with obsessive-compulsive personality traits like problematic perfectionism, decision paralysis, and black & white thinking that burns you out and hurts your opportunities.

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

Teva Johnstone, Licensed Clinical Social Worker No. 103826

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Specializing in OCD & Related Disorders

ERP Therapy in Ventura

As a psychotherapist in Ventura with specialized training in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, anxiety, and specific phobias, I practice evidence-based therapy guided by your values and 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 concerns, cultural values, and ideas about the life you want to live.

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Compassionate Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Ventura

Get Help for OCD, Anxiety, and Specific Phobias

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.

I provide a space where you are safe to share things that are embarrassing, scary, or taboo. I offer appropriate validation of your pain, however, our work is more than exclusive validation. People who work with me are gently challenged to grow, 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, you will be supported as you do the hard work of breaking free from compulsive behavior and anxious avoidance.

In Person and Online Therapy

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  • Emetophobia and Specific Phobias

  • Social Anxiety

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder

  • “Failure to Launch” or Highly Dependent Adult Children

  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Children & Teens

“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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Take the First Step Towards Freedom With Exposure-Based CBT in Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties

Break Free From Stuck Patterns With Psychotherapy for the OCD Spectrum

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 cognitive behavioral therapy 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 office in Ventura (near Ventura College) and 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.

Effective Therapy In Person & Online

  • Exposure and Response Prevention

  • Exposure-Based CBT

  • Rumination-Focused ERP

  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

  • SPACE FTL

  • Independence Therapy

  • Integrative & Holistic

Rewrite Your Story With Therapy in Ventura and Across California

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    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Therapy

    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 to neutralize the anxiety caused by unwanted thoughts and urges. Obsessions cause anxious distress and time consuming rituals and avoidance. Compulsions are driven by anxiety and seek to alleviate the anxiety generated by the obsessions. Ultimately compulsive rituals and avoidance reinforce the cycle of OCD. ERP treatment builds courage, resilience, and agency while helping develop a different relationship with anxiety. It’s possible to find freedom and learn to hold your fears with flexibility and gentleness. I can help.

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    Specific Phobias & Anxiety Therapy

    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, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias like emetophobia. 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 and avoiding triggers. Effective treatment for anxiety disorders and specific phobias includes evidence-based therapy approaches such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), SPACE parent training program, and Independence Therapy.
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    SPACE Treatment for Child Anxiety, OCD & Failure to Launch

    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, respectful treatment that honors your child’s sense of autonomy and stage of development. It’s important the treatment approach doesn’t waste precious time and has evidence that it actually works.

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