Cheri Garza
Hi, I'm Cheri, a licensed marriage and family therapist in California. If you're stuck in a loop of intrusive thoughts, checking, or needing to feel certain, I know how exhausting that can be, and I help teens and adults find their way out of it. The approach I use most is called Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP. In everyday terms, we take small, manageable steps toward the things that scare you, without giving in to the urge to check or seek reassurance, so anxiety gradually loses its grip. I also draw on CBT, ACT, and mindfulness to help you feel steadier along the way.
I live in Ventura, California, where I enjoy being outdoors and in the sun—appreciating the balance and renewal that I also encourage clients to cultivate in their own lives.
Together, we'll build your comfort with uncertainty so you can spend less time managing fear and more time living the way you want to. Therapy with me is collaborative and practical, and we'll move at a pace that feels right for you.
First session
Your first session is a chance for us to get to know each other and for you to share what has been bringing you to therapy. We’ll talk about what you’ve been experiencing, how OCD or anxiety may be affecting your life, and what you hope will be different. I’ll also explain how OCD and anxiety work and begin identifying the patterns that may be keeping you stuck. You’ll leave with a better understanding of what’s happening and a clearer idea of how we can approach treatment together.
Strengths
I bring a warm, calm, and nonjudgmental presence to therapy. I want you to feel comfortable being honest about the thoughts, fears, and patterns that may be difficult to talk about. One of my strengths is helping you make sense of what’s keeping you stuck while also giving you practical tools to move forward. I’m especially passionate about working with OCD and anxiety and understand how exhausting it can be to constantly analyze, check, avoid, seek reassurance, or try to find certainty. I have worked across private practice, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential treatment, and multidisciplinary healthcare settings. These experiences have given me a deep understanding of the complexities of OCD, anxiety disorders, body-focused repetitive behaviors, eating disorders, and related concerns, while reinforcing my commitment to providing compassionate, individualized care. My approach combines compassion with evidence-based treatment. We’ll work together to understand your patterns, build confidence in handling uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, and make choices based on what matters to you.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who feels like anxiety or OCD has taken up far too much space in their life. You might be stuck in overthinking, reassurance-seeking, checking, avoidance, or trying to find the “right” answer to every uncomfortable thought or feeling. From the outside, you may seem like you’re doing just fine, while internally you feel exhausted and stuck in your head.
Treatment methods
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
When your mind is racing, mindfulness gives you a way to gently pause and reconnect with what’s happening right now. You’ll practice noticing anxious thoughts and feelings without needing to immediately fix them, helping you feel more present, grounded, and at ease.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT can help you understand anxiety without letting it take over. Together, we’ll explore your thoughts and patterns, build helpful coping skills, and practice responding to challenges with greater confidence and flexibility..
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT helps you step out of the struggle with anxiety and focus more on the life you want to live. You’ll learn to notice anxious thoughts without letting them take over, while building confidence in making choices that feel meaningful to you.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP is the gold standard treatment for OCD. ERP helps you practice responding to OCD in new ways, one step at a time. You’ll gradually build confidence and discover that you can keep doing the things that matter to you—and break the cycle of OCD.
Location
Virtual sessions