Derek Petersen
I’m a dedicated mental health professional with over 10 years of experience in the helping professions, driven by a deep passion for supporting people in creating meaningful, lasting change. I specialize in treating anxiety and related disorders, grief and loss, depression, as well as relationship and attachment issues. I also have extensive experience working in addiction and behavioral health, supporting individuals through recovery with compassion, structure, and practical tools for sustainable progress. I also work with anxiety disorders and phobias, helping clients better understand their patterns and gradually overcome avoidance so they can live more freely. A core part of my work focuses on self-confidence and self-image. I help clients challenge negative self-beliefs, strengthen their sense of identity, and develop a more balanced and compassionate relationship with themselves.
In addition to OCD, I have extensive experience working in addiction and behavioral health, supporting individuals through recovery with compassion, structure, and practical tools for sustainable progress.
My approach is collaborative, nonjudgmental, and tailored to each individual’s goals. I believe therapy should feel both supportive and empowering—giving you the skills, insight, and confidence to navigate life’s challenges long after our work together ends.
First session
In our first session, you can expect a supportive, nonjudgmental space where we begin getting to know you and what brings you to therapy. We’ll talk about your current concerns, any relevant history, and what you’re hoping to get out of our work together. It's important to note that there’s absolutely no pressure to share everything at once—this is your space, and we’ll move at a pace that feels comfortable for you! Together, we’ll start identifying goals and what meaningful progress would look like for you. You can also expect to leave with a clearer understanding of how I work, and space to ask any questions about the therapy process. Above all, my focus in our first session together is building connection and creating a foundation of trust, so you feel supported, understood, and empowered moving forward.
Strengths
I have wide-ranging and extensive experience in the mental health field, and and that experience has given me a unique and singular lens on how to help people in a therapeutic setting. I pride myself on being able to build a strong therapeutic alliance, making clients feel safe, heard, and understood, and providing effective and efficient use of evidence-based practices and treatments to help my clients reach their goals and bring relief to their mental health issues.
Ideal clients
I work best with clients who are looking to better understand themselves and make meaningful changes in the way they relate to themselves and others. You may be struggling with self-doubt, low self-esteem, perfectionism, people-pleasing, comparison, or feeling like you are never quite “enough.” You may appear confident on the outside while privately questioning yourself, second-guessing your decisions, or being hard on yourself. My ideal clients are curious, reflective, and open to exploring the patterns that may be keeping them stuck. You don’t need to have everything figured out—or even know exactly what needs to change. Therapy can be a place to slow down, gain clarity, and begin building a stronger sense of self, while developing practical tools to navigate relationships, boundaries, life transitions, and everyday challenges with greater confidence. Whether you are seeking support during a particularly difficult season or are ready to invest more intentionally in your personal growth, I want therapy to be a space where you feel understood, challenged in a supportive way, and empowered to create lasting change.
Ongoing work together
A core part of my work focuses on self-confidence and self-image. Many of us develop deeply rooted beliefs about ourselves over time—about our worth, abilities, appearance, or whether we are “good enough.” These beliefs can shape how we navigate relationships, challenges, decisions, and opportunities. In therapy, we work together to understand where these beliefs come from and how they continue to affect you. We may explore patterns of self-criticism, comparison, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulty trusting yourself, or feeling disconnected from who you are. From there, we work toward developing a more balanced and compassionate relationship with yourself. Therapy is an ongoing process, and progress can look different for everyone. Over time, you may become more aware of familiar patterns of self-doubt, learn to respond to yourself with greater compassion, set healthier boundaries, or make choices that feel more aligned with your values rather than fear or external expectations. Progress may also look like trusting yourself more, recovering more quickly from setbacks, or feeling less dependent on external validation. My approach is collaborative, nonjudgmental, and tailored to your individual goals. We regularly check in about what you are noticing, what feels helpful, and where you would like to focus next. I see therapy as a space to both understand yourself more deeply and practice new ways of relating to yourself and others. Ultimately, the goal is not simply to feel better during our sessions, but to build the insight, skills, and self-trust you can carry into everyday life. Together, we can work toward a relationship with yourself that feels more secure, compassionate, and authentic—one that continues to grow beyond our work together.
Treatment methods
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
I have been helping patients overcome debilitating conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as panic disorder and certain phobias throughout my career using exposure response prevention (ERP)
Psychodynamic
The first treatment method I was trained in, I often use a psychodynamic approach when I feel it's necessary to explore unconscious thoughts, past experiences, and emotional patterns in order to improve self-awareness and interpersonal relationships
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I will often use ACT principles or concepts in conjunction with ERP, but it is a framework that I find very useful in working with patients struggling with substance use, self-confidence/self-esteem, and trauma.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
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Licensed in
- PennsylvaniaLicense PC020018