Giovonni Hinton
Hi, I'm Giovonni. I'm a poet, a writer, and a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in anxiety and OCD, using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). As an Afrolatina, multicultural lesbian, I know how anxiety can live in the body, the mind, the spirit, and our relationships. My approach is personable, antiracist, and liberatory, and I work to create a collaborative, authentic space where healing can be whole and holistic. With intention, dignity, and humor when it fits, I walk alongside you as you reclaim your voice, embrace who you truly are, and grow a deeper compassion for yourself. Together, we can find the way back home to you.
I understand the particular weight carried by women of color, first generation daughters, and anyone who has had to figure out survival before they ever got to figure out themselves.
First session
This isn't just talk therapy. It's a space where creativity and action live. Bring your poems, your playlists, your journals, your favorite books. If it helps you make sense of your inner world, it belongs here. We'll use tools like journaling and EFT (tapping) to help your nervous system release what words alone can't always hold. One request before we begin: get a journal. Write everything down. Give your emotions somewhere safe and sacred to land. You don't need to just talk about it. Here, you get to move through it. As it relates to OCD, this is DEFINITELY not talk therapy. We will do an assessment using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Then we will move from that to learning what your compulsions are to help us build hierachies that you will have to work on every.single.day. It will be work that feels difficult but it's not impossible if you stick with it. Our first session is an intake, which means it is really about me getting to know you. We will explore who you are, what is bringing you in, how long you have been carrying it, and what you are hoping to find on the other side of it. Think of it as the beginning of a map we are drawing together. I will ask questions, and I want you to answer them as honestly as you can, knowing that nothing you say will be met with judgment. This is a space where you are allowed to be exactly where you are. You do not have to have it figured out. You do not have to perform okayness. You just have to show up. I also want you to know that while this work is deep, it does not have to be heavy every single moment. Humor lives in this room too, when it is real and when it fits. Sometimes laughter is its own kind of release, and I will never be too clinical to recognize that. By the end of our first session, my goal is for you to leave feeling seen, heard, and like you can breathe a little easier than when you walked in.
Strengths
I bring both structure and soul to our work together. As an anxiety and OCD specialist, I use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), one of the most effective, research supported treatments available. But I never lose sight of the whole person in front of me. You are more than your symptoms, and our sessions will honor your culture, your identity, your story, and your spirit. My background in healthcare taught me how deeply the mind and body are connected. I'll help you build real tools to regulate, ground, and feel safe in your own skin. As a poet and writer, I believe in the healing power of words. I host journaling and poetry workshops, and journaling is a meaningful part of how I work in session. Writing gives your thoughts somewhere to land, helps you notice patterns, and lets you witness your own growth over time. I also ask thoughtful, soul searching questions that invite you to slow down and hear your inner voice more clearly. So please, bring a notebook to our first session. It will become a companion on your journey back to yourself. My presence is soft and steady, and my outlook is hopeful. I bring warmth and humor when it fits, because laughter can be medicine too. Above all, I see you as the expert on your own life. Together, we'll work toward you trusting yourself again: making your own decisions, feeling your feelings, setting boundaries, grieving what needs grieving, and asking for help when you need it.
Ideal clients
I specialize in OCD and anxiety. If that's not what you're navigating, I may not be the right clinician for you. But if it is? Keep reading. I am best positioned to serve the people who are done pretending they're okay. The ones who have been holding everything together for everyone else and are quietly falling apart on the inside. The ones who wake up tired, not because they didn't sleep, but because they are exhausted from carrying so much for so long. The worry that won't quiet. The thoughts that loop. The rituals that buy sixty seconds of peace before the doubt loads again. The anxiety that lives in your chest like a second heartbeat you never asked for. If any of that sounds familiar, you're in the right place.
Treatment methods
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Life doesn't always give us the luxury of time, and sometimes what we need most is to find our footing again. Not to excavate every wound, but to remember we have everything inside us to move forward. That's the heart of Solution Focused Brief Therapy. I use this approach because I believe you are the expert on your own life. My job isn't to pathologize you or keep you stuck in what went wrong; it's to help you reconnect with what's already working, what you've already survived, and what you actually want your life to feel like. Together we get clear on where you want to go, and we build from there. We name your strengths. We find the exceptions: the moments when the anxiety wasn't so loud, when the relationship felt easier, when you felt like yourself. And we use those moments as a map. This isn't about bypassing your pain. It's about not letting it be the only story we tell.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is considered one of the most effective treatments for OCD and many forms of anxiety. At its heart, ERP is about slowly and gently facing the things that scare you, while learning not to give in to the compulsions, rituals, or avoidance that keep fear in charge. I know that can sound intimidating. Please know that we will never rush, and you will never be forced. ERP in my practice is collaborative and paced with care. Together, we'll build a map of your fears, starting with what feels manageable and moving forward only when you're ready. You are always part of the decision. Along the way, you'll discover something powerful: that you can sit with discomfort and uncertainty, and still be okay. Over time, your brain learns that the danger it has been warning you about is not the truth of who you are. The grip of anxiety begins to loosen, and there is more room for you to breathe, choose, and live. I also bring a whole person lens to this work. Before and after exposures, we'll practice grounding and nervous system regulation so your body feels supported, not overwhelmed. Journaling plays a role too, helping you track your progress, name what you're noticing, and celebrate every brave step. And because OCD and anxiety can be shaped by culture, faith, family, and identity, I make sure our work honors all of who you are. ERP asks for courage, and I believe you already have it within you. My role is to walk beside you, steady and hopeful, as you reclaim your life from fear, one small step at a time.
Jungian
We all carry parts of ourselves we've been taught to hide: the anger, the grief, the need, the parts that didn't feel safe to be seen. Shadow work is the practice of turning toward those parts instead of away from them. In our sessions, we'll gently bring what's been buried into the light, not to shame it, but to understand it and integrate it. Because the moment you stop fighting yourself is the moment everything starts to shift.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Hispanic / Latinx
LGBTQ
Person of Color (POC)
Woman
Top specialties
Anxiety
LGBTQ
Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD)
Other specialties
Coping Skills
Life Transitions
Peer Relationships
Serves
Gender-fluid
Individual Therapy
Man
Non-binary
Transgender
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
Addiction
Addiction / Substance Use
Licensed in
District of ColumbiaLicense LC200004344
VirginiaLicense 0904018970