Carissa Atkinson, MSCP

Carissa’s clinical experience began in general private practice, and she later moved on to develop a more specialized treatment approach through an internship with The Center for OCD and Anxiety in August 2020. Upon graduating from the MS in Counseling Psychology program at Chatham University, she transitioned into her roles as Associate Therapist, COA Intake Manager, and Caregiver Support Group Leader until February 2024.

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As Carissa believes that effective therapy includes an appropriate balance of empathy, humor, active listening, and proper guidance rooted in evidence-based practices, she utilizes an eclectic mix of therapeutic modalities to tailor treatment according to the specific needs of each individual.

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Carissa’s approach to treatment typically involves three phases: building insight and awareness around delineating between OCD-related intrusive thoughts and your own logical thought processes; developing skills to appropriately manage and dismiss intrusive thoughts and compulsive urges; and ultimately structuring effective, yet manageable, exposures to incrementally build distress tolerance and systematically desensitize to triggering experiences.

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While your work together will focus on treating OCD and anxiety-related disorders, Carissa intends to utilize a holistic approach necessary in treating the whole person, which may include family work as well. Her primary goal is to help clients realize happy, healthy, fulfilling lives by taking their freedom back from the binds of OCD and anxiety. Carissa enjoys working in a creative, collaborative environment while cultivating meaningful relationships with her clients. She finds it extremely rewarding to help people struggling with OCD and anxiety, as progress is often consistent and evident. As they say – if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life!