(she/her)
New to Grow
Hello! My name is Victoria and I have been providing therapy for 7 years. I am fully licensed in South Carolina and North Carolina and have had my private practice for 5 years. My primary specialty is treating OCD but I do see clients for a myriad of reasons including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, life stressors, low self-esteem, and attachment issues. I have thoroughly enjoyed working in this field and having the honor to see my clients make progress towards living the life they want to live.
A first session is all about me getting to know you as a person. There's no right or wrong way to show up to a first session; you don't need to come prepared, you just need to show up as yourself. I'll want to get to know a little about your background, your current life situation, and what brought you to therapy. It's my job to make you feel as safe and comfortable as possible, so I recognize and respect that if it feels too soon to discuss or go into detail about something, we do not have to talk about this in the first session. Building trust can take time.
I take my job very seriously, but I tend to have more of a laid back approach in therapy. I am a person, just like you. I never want my clients to feel like they are in a stale conversation with a medical provider who just sees them as another chart. I try to make my sessions personable and foster a real connection with my clients.
My ideal client would be young to middle age adults who are motivated and eager to learn about themselves. My primary specialty is working with adults with OCD and I have personally highly enjoyed working with this population. People who struggle with OCD often are misunderstood and often feel uncomfortable sharing their intrusive thoughts with a therapist. I find great meaning in doing my best to provide a safe space for my clients with OCD to discuss all of their thoughts and emotions in a nonjudgmental atmosphere.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT helps us learn how to change our relationship with unwanted emotions or thoughts; instead of avoiding them or trying to push them away, ACT techniques show us how to learn how to accept our thoughts and emotions but not get entangled with them if we choose not to.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT helps us become more aware of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and how these all impact one another.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP is the gold standard for treating OCD. ERP guides us to learn how to identify compulsions, specific obsessions, feared consequences, and specific triggers that cause our OCD to flare up. ERP uses gradual exposure exercises to help us learn how to sit with the uncomfortable feelings OCD can create and not engage in compulsive behavior.