OCD, etc.
Hello! I’m Matt Roberts, a psychotherapist offering evidence-based treatment for OCD, anxiety, emotion regulation, and a wide range of other concerns in the Los Feliz/Silverlake area of Los Angeles, and via video across California.
ABOUT ME
If you’re feeling stuck, with distressing thoughts, rumination, anxiety, or a never-ending cycle of compulsions or other problem behaviors getting in the way of your life, you’ve come to the right place.
While life can feel like an unmanageable spiral, I use practical psychotherapy methods backed by clinical research to help you get back on track toward the life you want to have.
After 20 years working in music, I made the decision to switch to psychotherapy, and I have found OCD and anxiety treatment to be the most satisfying and effective work of my career. With a comprehensive training background in ACT, ERP, and CBT, I’m highly qualified to help you on your journey to recovery.
If you’d like to read a little bit more about me, go here. If you’d like to read about my areas of specialty, keep on reading below.
AREAS OF SPECIALTY
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD describes an area of struggle where people experience unwanted and distressing thoughts, feelings, or urges that lead them to engage in physical or mental behaviors that provide short-term relief.
Common themes and areas of OCD that I have extensive experience treating include harm, contamination, “Pure O””, sexual content/POCD, SO-OCD, ROCD, Existential OCD, moral or religious scrupulosity, and “just right”, symmetry, and perfectionism OCD.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD shares similarities with OCD, in that includes troubling thoughts and avoidant behaviors, but with GAD, typically the concerns are about everyday things like finances and safety. People struggling with GAD often struggle with uncontrollable worry, feel tense/on-edge and may struggle with concentration and sleep.
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Emotion Regulation Problems (including Anger Management)
For various reasons, many people struggle to manage their feelings, becoming overwhelmed or distressed in challenging situations, leading them to either act on their feelings inappropriately or shut down their emotions altogether.
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Social Anxiety/Social Phobia
People struggling with social anxiety generally find social situations to be extremely distressing, often due to fears of judgment by others. Those with social anxiety can only tolerate social situations with great discomfort or and often will avoid them altogether.
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Panic Attacks & Panic Disorder
Many people with anxiety struggles also experience panic attacks, with symptoms like rapid heartbeat, constricted breathing, dizziness, or feeling “unreal” or out of control. Panic Disorder describes a pattern of repeated panic attacks that appear out of nowhere, with fears of future panic attacks, often accompanied by avoidance of places or situations where a panic attack is feared to occur.
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Phobias
Specific phobias describe fear of certain specific objects or situations. Common phobias include heights, specific animals (namely spiders and dogs), flying, or blood.
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Tics, Tourette Syndrome (TS) and BFRBs
Tics and Tourette’s describe a pattern of repetitive physical behaviors including motor or vocal tics (having both kinds of tics often denotes TS) that are often experienced as uncontrollable. Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBS) are specific types of physical behaviors that either feel uncontrollable or difficult to stop. Some common BFRBs include skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting.
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Tinnitus
Tinnitus refers to the experiencing of unwanted or unpleasant sounds in the ear, often a “ringing.” Because there is currently no proven way to treat tinnitus, the application of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) may be effective in reducing distress and changing one’s relationship with the unwanted sounds.
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Other Areas
I also have experience in other mental health areas that include:
Depression
Breakups & Relationship Issues
Life Transitions
Trauma & PTSD
Substance Use issues
Stress Management
Maladaptive Daydreaming
Men’s Issues