(she/they)
New to Grow
You've probably spent a long time waiting: waiting to feel ready, waiting for permission, waiting until things get "bad enough" to deserve support. That wait ends here. I'm Nicole Obih, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 8+ years of experience across inpatient, outpatient, and private practice settings. I specialize in working with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, and identity, especially those carrying the weight of cultural expectations, internalized shame, or the pressure to perform wellness for everyone else.
Our first session is about connection, not interrogation. You don't need to have everything figured out or know exactly what to say. I'll guide us through it. We'll talk about what brought you to therapy, what's been weighing on you, and what you're hoping life looks like on the other side of this work. I'll ask questions, but there's no pressure to go deeper than you're ready to go. By the end, you'll have a clearer sense of how we'll work together and what to expect going forward. My goal for session one is simple: that you leave feeling heard, not assessed.
My greatest strength is translating lived experience into effective clinical care. As a Black queer therapist with 8+ years across high-acuity settings, I bring cultural fluency, clinical sharpness, and a no-judgment approach that helps clients move from surviving to actually building the life they want.
My ideal client is a Black or POC/LGBTQ+ adult who is tired of waiting for permission to heal. They may be navigating anxiety, trauma, or identity questions, and they may want a therapist who understands the cultural context without needing it to be explained to them. They are ready to show up fully and do the real work, no code-switching required.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT isn't about forcing positivity. It's about learning how to stop fighting your inner world so you can actually move through it. We'll work on building psychological flexibility, the ability to feel hard things without letting them steer your whole life. Together, we'll identify what truly matters to you and take steps toward that, even when anxiety, grief, or self-doubt show up along the way.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
Race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion, immigration history: these aren't just "background details." They shape what stress looks like, what healing looks like, and what kind of support actually helps. I bring a culturally responsive lens to every session, so your identity is never a footnote to your treatment. For BIPOC and LGBTQ+ clients especially, this means care that sees the full picture of your life.
Strength-Based
ou came into this with more than you think. Strength-based therapy shifts the focus from what's "wrong" with you to what's already working: your resilience, your insight, the ways you've survived hard seasons. I use this approach to help clients build self-trust and confidence, especially those who've spent years being defined by diagnoses, systems, or other people's narratives about who they are.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
You are the expert on your own life, and my job is to help you access that expertise. In person-centered work, we slow down and create space for you to actually hear yourself: your needs, your values, your truth. This approach is especially useful for clients working through identity questions, life transitions, or moments where they feel disconnected from who they are and what they want.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Most of us have a loop running in the background: thoughts that spiral into anxious nights, avoidance that quietly shrinks your world, or self-talk that's relentlessly unkind. CBT helps us identify that loop and interrupt it. We'll look at how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected, then build concrete tools to shift patterns that aren't working. It's practical, structured, and one of the most well-researched approaches for anxiety and depression.