IN PERSON AND ONLINE THERAPY

Reclaim Your Life,
Restore Your Agency.

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WHO WE ARE

About Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Therapy in Ventura

Help for the Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum

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

Specializing in OCD and Related Disorders

Evidence-Based 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 needs, cultural values, and ideas about the life you want.

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WHAT WE TREAT

Compassionate Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Specific Phobias 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.

I provide a space where you are safe to share things that are embarrassing, scary, or taboo. I offer appropriate validation of your pain, but to promote recovery, 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.

Mental Health & Personal Growth

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  • Specific Phobias and Anxiety Disorders

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

  • Stress and Burnout

  • Hoarding Disorder

“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

START NOW

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

Break Free From Stuck Patterns With Therapy

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 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 (ERP)

  • Rumination-Focused ERP (RF-ERP)

  • Radically-Open DBT Skills Training (RO-DBT)

  • Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

  • Independence Therapy

  • Integrative & Holistic Therapy

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 driven by anxiety as attempts 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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    Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

    Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is high achieving, Type A, and driven character traits that have veered into troublesome territory. OCPD co-occurs with OCD in 25% of cases. Sufferers from OCPD often engage in harsh self-criticism and unhelpful perfectionism. They are prone to overworking, overthinking, and tying their self-worth to productivity. OCPD sufferers commonly struggle with paralyzing procrastination and indecisiveness, which compromises important aspects of their lives. Therapy can help people with OCPD maintain high standards, a beautiful aesthetic, and moral integrity without allowing these traits to take over. With Radically-Open DBT skills and Exposure-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, I can help you achieve balance while preserving the essence of who you are and what makes you unique.

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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, 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 approacheslike Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), SPACE parent training program, and Independence Therapy.
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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, 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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