About Teva Johnstone
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Client Focus
The focus of my practice is anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder in adult, perinatal, child, and teen populations. A large portion of my work is helping clients recover from compulsive avoidance and compulsive overconsumption of digital technology. I’ve worked closely with parents for over a decade on issues related to maternal/paternal depression, anxiety, emotional self-regulation, child development and behavior.
My office is located in Southern California, specifically in the beach town of Ventura. I see clients for Telehealth all over the state—from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, to the Central Coast, and San Francisco.
Advanced Training
I receive regular consultation in OCD treatment with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) from an expert clinician and professor in NYC, Dr. Eli Felt. I am part of a biweekly consultation group with Dr. Jonathan Grayson founder of The Grayson LA Treatment Center for Anxiety and OCD offered through the International OCD Foundation. I participated in an intensive ERP training from the Cognitive Behavioral Institute.
I have completed Postpartum Support International’s training on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and regularly take courses from the International OCD Foundation and Cognitive Behavioral Institute. My work in compulsive tech consumption utilizes Dr. Anna Lembke’s holistic approach of dopamine fasting combined with mindfulness and existential principles.
Clinical Experience
I have worked with adults and children for about a decade in a variety of settings, including schools, inpatient and partial hospitalization psychiatry, hospital new parent & child development centers, foster care, and private practice.
My expertise is in Maternal Child Mental Health, with a focus in parental anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation. I have extensive experience providing treatment to children with anxiety, abuse and trauma histories, and highly sensitive temperaments. I consult with parents on a variety of modern concerns, including opting their children out of a phone-based childhood for optimal psychosocial development.
Although much of my experience has been with women and children, I enjoy supporting men and see many fathers in my practice.
Advancing the Profession
I mentor early career therapists and provide clinical supervision to Associates in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles Counties. In 2021 I held a volunteer Child, Adolescents & Young Adults committee position with the National Association of Social Workers and was selected as a Delegate for the NASW-CA Chapter.
I have been licensed to practice psychotherapy independently since 2021 and opened my practice the same year. I have worked in the mental health field, including graduate school internships, since 2011.
Professional Affiliations
International OCD Foundation
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Postpartum Support International
Clinical Training
University Education
Master's of Social Work, Azusa Pacific University (APU)
Bachelor’s of Arts, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
California License
Licensed Clinical Social Worker No.103826
Adult Mental Health
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Dr. Eli Felt, Dr. Jon Grayson, Cognitive Behavioral Institute and ongoing live expert supervision and consultation
Habit Reversal Therapy (HRT) Cognitive Behavioral Institute
Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) Cognitive Behavioral Institute (In progress)
Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders Postpartum Support International
Technology Addiction and Digital Health Certification Dr. Nicholas Kardaras
Internet Addiction: Evaluation and Treatment Kimberly Young & Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Steven Hayes & Daniel Moran
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) Level 1 University of Iowa
Perinatal Mental Health
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Postpartum Support International
Postpartum and Birth Doula DONA International
Certified Lactation Education Counseling UC San Diego
Children’s Mental Health
SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxiety Childhood Emotions) Eli Lebowitz, Yale Child Center
Attachment-based Family Therapy AFBT International
Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART) SMART Moves LLC
Certified DIR Floortime Practitioner Level 1 ICDL
Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT) Medical University of South Carolina
Advanced Trauma Treatment for Children and Adolescents PESI
High-functioning Autism, Adolescents & Young Adults PESI