Licensed to practice in District of Columbia and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Trauma and PTSD, Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) and 8 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
I am Dr. Patrick Fisher, please call me Patrick. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and Nationally Certified Counselor with a doctorate in psychology and nearly 20 years of clinical experience, I help adults and adolescents quiet their anxiety, recover from burnout, and steady themselves under life's unnerving pressures. I am privileged to be on this journey with you. Just bring your courage, and I'll bring the roadmap.
Our first session is a conversation, not an interrogation. We will walk through what brought you here, what you hope to change, and what has and has not helped before. I will ask enough questions to understand your world without making you relive every detail on day one. You will leave with an initial sense of direction for counseling, a comfortable feeling for how I work, and no pressure to have anything figured out yet.
Twenty years of clinical experience means very little surprises me and nothing you share will be judged. I am warm but direct. You will not get a blank stare and a notepad. You will get practical tools that hold up in real life and honest feedback delivered with care. I also bring a specialty most clinicians overlook, the therapeutic power of the human connection. I understand clinical process, but present it in a personal and effective approach. Again, I am privileged to join you on this journey.
My ideal client is capable on the outside and quietly overwhelmed underneath. The professional everyone leans on, the student carrying invisible pressure, the person whose anxiety has started making their decisions for them. You do not need to arrive with answers, just a willingness to be honest. If your dog or cat is part of how you cope, I understand that bond clinically and we will build on it together.
Other specialties
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is a cornerstone of my practice for anxiety and burnout. We map how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors feed one another, then interrupt the loops that keep you stuck. It is structured and practical, and you will use the skills the same week you learn them. For clients whose anxiety has roots in painful experiences, I use trauma-focused CBT to process what happened at a pace you control. We build coping skills first, so you are never asked to face difficult material without the tools to handle it. The past may explain your patterns, but it does not get to run your life.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Rather than wrestling every anxious thought, ACT helps you loosen its grip and refocus on what actually matters to you. Your choices start coming from your values instead of your fear.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I use mindfulness to steady an overactive nervous system, helping you notice what is happening before it snowballs and create space between a trigger and your response. No incense required, just practical attention skills.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
You are the expert on your own life. I bring warmth, honesty, and two decades of experience, and I meet you exactly where you are without judgment. If you use Animal-Assisted Therapy formally and Grow lists it, add it. That one is a genuine differentiator for you. I can write the description on request.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I draw on DBT skills to help you ride out intense emotions without being ruled by them. Distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness are not abstractions here. They are concrete tools for the moments when anxiety spikes, conflict lands, or pressure peaks, and we practice them until they hold up in real life.