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) from expert clinician and professor, 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 intensive ERP training from the Center for Anxiety & Behavior Therapy offered through 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 as a social worker and therapist 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.

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 and began specializing in the OCD spectrum in 2024.

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.

Professional Affiliations

• International OCD Foundation

• Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

• Postpartum Support International